Pasts Die Hard
by AvatarAiris
Summary: So far, everything has gone terrible for the Gaang. When will things change? And how can a mysterious friend from everyone's past help turn the tables? Takes place after season 2 finale. M for later chapters. Eventually Kataang.
1. Chapter 1

AN- (This is my first fic. Please be nice.)

This takes place right after the season two finale and the earth king is not on Appa to clear things up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I only own the OC's I will definitely make in this fic. (This goes for the entire fic.)

Chapter 1

Katara sat clutching Aang, on top of Appa's head, and as just as soon as Aang had came to he slipped back into unconsciousness.

"We need to find a save place for Aang to heal, fast." Katara said finally coming out of her initial shock of Aang almost dying.

"We'll head to Chameleon Bay, dad's fleet should still be there and we can stay there long enough to figure out our next move." Sokka answered, automatically taking the lead again.

Everyone aboard Appa nodded their head in silent agreement, even Momo purred softly.

Katara guided Appa gently toward Chameleon bay one arm still wrapped tightly around Aang.

-------------------------------

Appa landed softly on the beach in front of the Water Tribe tents as the sun was just rising. The warriors jumped out of the simple tents ready to attack, but when they saw the bison they calmed. Hakoda ran up to Sokka and Katara. But slowed when he saw that all the passengers were quiet and wearing solemn faces. Katara ran up to her father.

Hugging her father she started to cry. "Dad, missed you so much"

Hakoda looked up from his daughter and saw Sokka carrying a limp body in his arms being followed by a young girl with black hear wearing green clothing.

Hakoda stared at the limp body heavily wounded boy in Sokkas arms.

"Is he the…"

Sokka looked his father in the eye, Sokkas blue eyes normally easy and full of jokes were now hard and sad, and nodded his head.

"Get him into the tent," Hakoda said pointing to a large tent which was obviously a healing tent. "Then get some sleep, by the looks of things it looks like you're going to need it."

Katara let go of her father. "I'm staying with Aang."

Hakoda nodded as he led her to the tent, which now held the worlds only hope.

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Somewhere up river, just by the city of Ba Sing Se. Fire Nation troups were dumping the bodies of the brave souls who dared to stand up against the new rulers of the once great city. Among them was a teenager dressed in Water Tribe colours.

The bodies floated liflessly down the river.

The river was a straight route to Chameleon bay.

AN- I know its short but trust me they will get longer. I just needed to get the Gaang to Chameleon Bay. I want just one review and I will post up the next chapter. So, please reveiw. I'm open to any advice or comments.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except my OC's

Chapter 2

"Katara you should really get out of this tent" She heard Sokka say.

"Yah, Sugar Queen we're all getting a bit worried about you, all you've done is stare into nothing next to Aang the whole day" Toph said walking into the tent.

"But… I have to take care of Aang."

"No Buts" Her older brother stated "You can't help Aang if you tired and cranky"

Katara gave up, they were right she couldn't help Aang if she was exhausted. "Fine I'll go for a walk on the beach and relax. But if anything happens to Aang you come get me, Okay."

"I'll look after him, now go relax and practice your bending" Sokka said pushing Katara out of the tent.

"That's what I was afraid of" She said under her breath.

Katara looked around beach. Her father had gone up river to secure some of his traps. The campsite would've looked deserted if it wasn't for Appa munching slowly on some dried seaweed. Even Appa seemed depressed about Aang.

Katara decided to focus her thoughts on the beautiful white sandy beach in front of her and the calm and radiant ocean beside her. She drew a small amount of water from the ocean and as she walked she streamed it around herself easily.

But besides the calming atmosphere, Katara couldn't help but think about Aang. Would he get better?

Sokka and Toph hadn't seen what she saw in the catacombs under Ba Sing Ce. Seeing her best friend shocked by thousands of volts of electricity and fall helplessly back down to earth.

She let her water go with a splash.

They hadn't seen Azula's malicious smile as taken down the world's last hope for peace. Everything for the small group seemed to go from bad to worse.

Katara sat down on the soft sand and pulled her legs to her chest and cried softly.

"Why is everything going wrong?"

She suddenly heard a large WHUSH come from the water. She got up and focused on the area where the sound had come from. She saw a person wearing the blue clothes of the Water Tribe slowing making their way to shore with the help of waterbending. She looked closer and saw that it was a girl about Sokka's age and more importantly that she was covered in really bad burns and sword wounds.

"Sokka!" She called from the beach.

Sokka stuck his head out of the tent.

"Get some bandages. A Water Tribe girl just washed up on shore and she's covered in wounds!"

Before Sokka could object to his sister helping a stranger, Katara ran up towards the girl.

The girl had reached the shore and was coughing up water on all fours when she saw someone run toward her.

She stood up in an attack stance. Katara could see that whatever ordeal she had been through had left her weak and weary. Her eyes immediately captured Katara; they were as grey as the sea during a storm and were taken over by raw fear.

"Get away from me!" the girl screamed as she summoned a large column of water and slammed it against Katara, sending her up the beach.

"AAAHHHH!!!" A male warrior cry sounded from behind her.

The girl turned to see a young man drop a basket of something, and charge at her with a club. She encircled him in a ball of water, froze it and sent it crashing into the middle of a cliff.

A discus of rock rammed into her stomach and threw her into the water and opening some bad wounds causing her to start bleeding heavily and the water around her to turn red. _An Earthbender!_ She grabbed wave of water and charged the young girl freezing her in a large solid pyramid making sure that her head and hands were sticking out but that she could move either. She knew how to deal with an earthbender.

Katara stared at the one sided battle in front of her. _She's a master! _She was still shocked from the attack the girl had given her. What had she done to provoke her? How could she fight so well when she quite possibly mortally wounded?

She had just frozen Toph. Katara stared shell-shocked. Sokka she could understand but Toph was a master bender. She had to be extremely powerful to do that even without her wounds. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

_Shit! What if she wants Aang!?_ Katara froze the girl to where she stood.

She jerked her head in Katara's direction and quickly melted the ice. She charged Katara with two intimidating 20-foot waves at her sides, crashing them into Katara, who easily deflected the waves, and created ice daggers with the remains of her opponent's attack. Katara flung one after the other at the girl. She amazingly evaded them with such ease that it was liked she was dancing with the deadly weapons.

A sudden object was flung at the girl and cut her arm badly. The girl let out a cry as the weapon returned to its master. Her wounds were taking there toll on her and this cut and the extra bleeding were not going to help her.

"Ha!" said the young man she had thrown against the wall.

The girl made some ice daggers of her own and flung them at both Katara and Sokka.

Sokka was pressed to the cliff wall no icicles even pinned his clothing. Katara blocked most of them with an ice shield. One flew dangerously close to her neck and actually cut through the fabric of the necklace that was always on her neck.

"My mother's necklace!" Katara cried as the trinket fell to the sand.

_Her Mother's necklace? _The girl slightly dropped her fighting stance.

"Kick her ass, Katara!" Yelled the earthbender stuck in the ice pyramid.

At that the girl completely dropped her stance. _Mother's necklace? Katara? It couldn't be! Could it?_

The girl took a cautious toward Katara and with equal caution asked:

"Katara, is that you?"

Katara's shocked face was the last thing the girl saw before being knocked unconscious by a club.

AN-Oooh who is this Mystery Girl and how does she know Katara?

Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for my OC's.

Chapter 3

"Sokka, how could you!" Katara told her brother as she picked up her necklace and ran over to the unconscious girl lying on the beach.

"WHAT?! That crazy bitch just attacked us, almost killed us and your angry at ME for just knocking her out cold!"

"Sokka, I think I know who she is!" Katara said as she pushed her extremely long hair away from her neck and reached inside her shirt.

"Oh great! Now my sisters lesbian!"

"Oh my spirits! Sokka it is her!" Katara squealed, unhooked something and pulled out a necklace.

"Sokka, do remember this?" She said as she showed him the simple Water Tribe necklace made with bones and blue beads. The main pendant was a bone carved on the shape of a howling wolf.

Sokka stared at the necklace.

"I gave this to Wataki after our first hunt together" he said in disbelieve

_Flashback_

"_Be patient Sokka! The turtle-seal will come to breathe soon enough!" A 12-year old Wataki told an 11-year old Sokka._

"_Humph" Sokka sulked._

_They had sat in silence for another 20 minutes and than Wataki saw something while he was sharpening his boomerang._

"_There are bubbles Sokka get your spear!" She said getting into her waterbending stance._

_That night the tribe had feasted on a plump turtle-seal thanks to the two almost teenagers. That next day Sokka had stopped Wataki on their way to warrior training. Wataki had been a waterbender but she had also had an interest in non-bending training. She even made a boomerang, club-machete (AN-Sokka's club), and a whale's tooth spear in one week, just to be able to train._

"_Hey Wataki," he said as he pulled her behind the wall that surrounded the tribe. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me with the hunt, if it wasn't for you I would have seen the seal and we would've been chewing on year old blubber last night." He had said as he handed the necklace he had made._

"_Oh Sokka I love it!" She had said as she kissed him on the cheek then hugged him. "I'll never take it off!" She told him as she tied around her neck in a secure knot._

_He could never remember a time that he had blushed more than he had done that day. _

_End Flashback_

"I can't believe it's her!" he said as he hugged his long lost friend. "I thought she was dead" he said so quietly that not even Katara heard him. He turned her head gently to face him, he was close enough to kiss her, he wanted to, but then thought about Suki and the fact that she was unconscious. Then decided just to hug her to him as close as he could.

"Hello! Sorry to break up this happy reunion but I'M STILL STUCK UP HERE!" Yelled a very pissed off Toph.

"Oh Toph I'm so sorry for forgetting you up there here I'll get you down" Katara let go of her old friend and slowly melted the ice around Toph and brought her gently back to earth.

"So Crazy over there is like your long sister or something?" Toph said jerking her finger toward the unconscious Wataki.

"Almost," Katara answered "she was like the sister I always wanted-"

Sokka picked up Wataki bridal style. "Come on you guys" Sokka interrupted going into 'Over-protective-brother mode' "Katara do you think you could heal her wounds..."

"And like the girlfriend Sokka never had." Katara finished, giggling along with Toph.

"So?" Sokka asked impatiently. He obviously hadn't heard the private joke.

"Yes, I think I could" Katara said straitening her face and answering Sokka's earlier question.

The small group traveled back towards the little settlement up the beach.

"Can we trust her with Twinkle Toes?" Toph said suddenly.

Toph's question caught Katara off guard but she had an answer.

"I'm 100 sure we can. She is the one of most trustworthy people I ever met" Katara answered calmly.

Katara's answer seemed to satisfy Toph.

When they reached the tent Sokka placed Wataki on a bed parallel to Aang's.

Katara checked Aangs wounds first. Being satisfied that his wounds were clean and were slowly healing she turned over to her second patient. She first got rid of all the burns. Then she focused on the bad gashes given barbed Fire Nation swords. She could only close up the smaller ones, but she cleaned and put bandages on the others. Then she fixed up the wound Sokka's boomerang had given her. Lastly she shoved Wataki's hair to the side to heal the club wound that had left her unconscious.

_Shit, I thought I had long hair, but this is crazy! Her hair is down to her knees! It must hell to wash and comb. _

As soon as Katara finished with the club wound. Katara sat down and stared at her old best friend. Remembering the times she and the only other waterbender in the entire South Pole had shared. She recalled the first time she laid eyes on her figure. She had not been born in Katara's tribe but Katara had always looked to her for inner strength and smooth guidance. Wataki had been her best friend ever since she had come to her tribe as a refugee from the Fire Nation…

_Flashback_

_Katara had had a hard time sleeping that night at the fault of the blizzard. She had been tossing and turning in sleeping bag when she heard a faint cry for help muffled by the heavy storm that had started a couple of hours before._

"_Dad! Sokka! There's someone out in the blizzard!" She had said waking the two males she shared her home with. When Hakoda sat up in his sleeping bag Katara pointed in the direction of the cry and said urgently "Listen!"_

_Hakoda froze until he heard the cry again._

_He got up and sprinted out to the rescue of the faint cry, with Katara and Sokka on his heels. He woke Bato up and told him the situation. The two men went out into the blizzard and were surprised to find a girl of twelve wandering not far from their settlement. Hakoda picked up the young girl knowing that because of her age, wounds, and blue parka that it was very unlikely that she was a Fire Nation spy. She had into his cried into his parka the entire way to the village repeating "Their all dead!"_

_When the two men returned with the girl, Katara and Sokka had followed the men into the healing hut. The girl's face was blue from the cold and she was covered in cuts and bruises and she had a bad gash on her right cheek. The blood had been frozen to her face because of the storm and her fresh tears were starting to melt the frozen blood._

_Gran-Gran had taken care of her until her wounds were completely healed._

_They had quickly learnt after her arrival that her name was Wataki and she was the soul survivor of a Fire Nation raid on her tribe and also that she was a juvenile waterbender looking for a master and was told before her tribe was destroyed that the only other waterbender in the entire South Pole, lived here (Katara). Even though Katara was only a juvenile waterbender Katara and Wataki learned from each other the small moves that the other knew. _

_Katara was the happiest she had been in two years with her new best friend. But it all came crashing down two months after Wataki arrived._

_She, Wataki, and Sokka had been ice fishing that morning…_

"_Hey you guys check out this huge breathing hole." were the last words she said before an arctic-hippo's head jumped out of the whole and grabbed Wataki's leg. _

_It had all happened so fast. Katara had instinctively grabbed Wataki's arms and Sokka had latched himself on to Katara._

_The hippo then shook his head violently causing Wataki to cry out in and drag the group closer a watery grave. A ten year old girl and an eleven year old boy could not win a human tug-o-war against a five and a half ton hippo. Wataki must have noticed this because she grabbed Katara with her eyes and in such a calm voice that it had shocked Katara to the core told her:_

"_Katara, I'm not going to let you and Sokka die because of me, Goodbye and thank you for being my friend." Then she had let go of Katara's arms and in a matter of seconds the hippo won the tug-of-war. Katara had tried to jump in after her but Sokka had stopped her. Katara bawled as she followed her friend's eyes down into the freezing depths of the ocean. Even Sokka had cried as he watched his friend meet her doom in her own element._

_The tribe had held a funeral for the fallen comrade. The tribe became solemn for days after Wataki's death._

_End Flashback _

But Wataki was not dead! She couldn't wait to tell her father! He had treated Wataki like she was his own daughter.

_Finally a good thing. _And with that thought Katara fell into a calm slumber.

AN-Please review


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for my OC's

Chapter 4

Wataki woke up to find most of her wounds healed and on a cot inside a large tent. She looked beside her and saw a girl in Water Tribe clothes taking a light nap.

_Katara. _Wataki gave a sigh of relieve. _I am so glad that the spirits let me see my little "sister" once more. I thought I'd never see her again. _Tears threatened to spill as she looked over her long lost "sister". _Spirits, she grown. She looks so mature. I never realized how much I've missed her. I wonder if the war has gotten to her yet. _Sadness crawled over Wataki's face as she remembered the faint outline of the Water Tribe warships before instinctively attacking Katara. She hoped she hadn't hurt her. But, she had probably already been hardened by this goddamn war. _Damn it! Now the war has swallowed the most responsible, loving person I've ever met! I hate this fucking war!! _

Wataki calmed herself down when she felt a dull pain in the back of her head. She rubbed it and remembered the warrior who had had given the wound.

_That must have been Sokka! He's gotten pretty cute._ She thought smiling to herself.

_Not as cute as- NO! That's over I haven't seen him in years and…_

_You know you want to see him again and don't you deny it!_

_He's probably forgotten all about me by now. _She answered herself sadly.

_A-hah! But you don't know that for sure do you!_

_Why am I having this argument?_

_Because you know want to see him _She told herself in a sing-song voice.

_That's it! _She dropped the argument inside her head and decided the only thing she did want to do was reunite with her friend.

"Looks like the blue penguin learned to heal" Wataki said, using Kataras childhood nickname. She had earned it for her love of penguin sledding and the colour blue.

Katara slowly woke from her nap and looked up to see a warm smile from the girl she hadn't seen in four years. She jumped into the older girl's arms, giving her a bone crushing hug and choking back sobs. Wataki didn't mind though for she was hugging with equal force and holding back tears of her own.

"Hey, where's my nickname?" Wataki said jokingly and giving her a puppy-dog face as she pulled Katara back a little to look her into her ocean blue eyes with her own storm grey ones. Both girls were crying at this point.

Katara laughed "Snow Wolf! How did you get here? I thought you dead! How did you survive? Where have been? How did you get your wounds? Did you master your waterbending at the North Pole?" Katara bombarded.

"Easy there, water sis'!" Putting her hands on Katara's shoulders, in hopes of calming her down. She thought for a moment before answering to the questions. "Yes to the last one. All over the world for the second and the other three I think are more like stories and I think that Sokka deserves to hear them to."

As if on cue Sokka walked into the tent.

"Hey Katara I just wanted to tell you that dad's-Wataki! You're awake!" his face lit up as soon as saw Wataki sitting up and smiling with tears in her eyes.

"Sokka! It's so good to see you!" she said as he gave her a platypus-bear hug and planted a kiss on her cheek. Wataki gently pushed Sokka away.

"Don't you have a girlfriend or something, Sokka?" She said with a knowing smile on her face.

"Yeah!" He said proudly before realizing something. "Wait, how do you know?"

Wataki played innocent and put her hand gently on her face. "Sokka you mean you don't remember my mind powers?"

Wataki turned toward Katara and her voice became some what serious tone. "I met up with a guru on my travels and he taught me to see into a persons pasts with a mere touch and follow the roads of spiritual bonds between people, and I often get flashes from the future." She finished and turned back to Sokka. "That's how I knew you had a girlfriend. I saw you being kissed by a Kyoshi warrior, Suki right, then the Water Tribe princess, Yue, repeatedly and than Suki again, and right now you're with Suki, am I wrong?"

Sokka just stood there, jaw unhooked. She had just said the record of his kisses in order and more shockingly with whom he had shared the kiss with and in front of Katara to make matters worse. A blush tinted his cheeks.

Katara giggled and decided to save Sokka from swallowing a bug.

"Sokka what were saying about dad?"

The young warrior shook his head and focused.

"Oh yeah, dads back and I'm sure everyone will shocked silly to see Wataki."

"Chief Hakoda is here! Well let's not keep your father waiting!" Wataki said cheerfully.

Wataki stood up and as she fixed her traditional blue robe she glanced at the cot beside. She froze when she saw it was occupied by a boy covered in bandages with two arrows coming down his arms and a large arrow covering his bald head and his forehead.

Katara noticed Watakis pause and walked over to her friend. She put a hand on the girls shoulder.

"He's the Avatar isn't he?" She asked before Katara could say anything. Not moving her gaze from the unconscious boy.

Katara nodded.

"Ba Sing Se fell when he did right?" She said slowly removing her gaze from the young avatar and turned to Katara.

Katara nodded again. Wataki returned her nod understanding their predicament quickly. She knew the war had affected Katara she just didn't expect her to have such a big part in it.

Wataki looked at Katara's face. "I was there when Ba Sing Se fell. I was one of the few people who stood up to Fire Nation. That's how I got these wounds. After the battle they dumped me in the river that led to Chameleon bay, thinking I was dead. That's how I ended up here, I guess."

They stood in silence for a few moments until Wataki spoke up.

"C'mon lets go tell all those "men" that the "dead" has returned!" Wataki said cheerfully seeing the sadness on Katara's face.

Katara smiled seeing beforehand the stunned expressions on the men's faces.

Wataki dragged Katara out of the tent, both girls laughing. As they left the tent Wataki looked back at the wounded Avatar. _I've finally found you._

AN- Please Review it makes chapters come faster:)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OC's

Chapter 5

Wataki turned around to see a small army of Water Tribe men gawking at her. She looked to her right and saw the earthbender from before petting a flying-lemur, at her left was Sokka giving her a huge smile and a thumbs up.

She breathed nervously. Who knew that coming back from the 'dead' was so awkward? She held her breath and walked toward the shell-shocked Hakoda, bowed and held out her hand as any man would do when greeting a Water Tribe chief such as Hakoda. She smiled and hoped to the spirits that he would accept her with open arms as he did all those years ago during the blizzard.

She flinched after a few moments of nothing. Then Hakoda laughed, shook her hand heartily and gave her a hug. That was soon joined by pats on the back and gentle shoulder shakes from the rest of the tribe. She relaxed knowing she was at home.

Finally Hakoda spoke. "Where have been all these years? Katara and Sokka told me you drowned because of an Arctic-Hippo, that you sacrificed your life for them. I would like to tell you that we had a funeral for you and that you were honoured as a warrior."

Hakoda had loved Wataki like second daughter. She had been a great warrior student for the two months she had been part of there tribe. She and his children had become fast friends and he had secretly hoped that she and Sokka would grow-up, get married and lead the tribe after him. he had been heartbroken when Wataki had 'died'. But, now that she was back, he knew now that they would only be good friends and that Sokka already had a girlfriend who he loved with all his heart.

"Thank you Chief Hakoda. It is great to see you and the tribe again, you aided me when I had no where else to turn. I owe my life to this tribe." Wataki bowed keeping a some-what formal air.

"No need, you almost died and doing so you spared the life of my children." Hakoda looked at his teenagers and smiled. "And speaking of which I'm sure your near-death experience left you with a great story." Hakoda smiled. Knowing from past experiences that she was an amazing storyteller.

Wataki smiled ear to ear "I'm sure it would be a great campfire story." Wataki said as she noted the setting sun.

Looking back at Katara and Sokka giving them a thumbs up.

Later that night they were all seated around a campfire. Wataki had barely finished her fish when Katara and Sokka began to press her for the story.

Laughing Wataki gave in.

She stood up in front of the large bon-fire and told her miracle to the curious tribe…

After Wataki had been pulled under the waters surface she stared at Kataras tear covered face for what seemed like forever, until the freezing waters and a terrible pain in her ears demanded her attention. Her lungs were shrinking for need of air. She looked down and saw the large creature dragging her deeper into the black abyss. She decided then and there that she was NOT GOING TO DIE!

She kicked the animal in the eye, it let go. She swam as fast as she could to the surface. But before she could reach it the creature bit down hard on her side dangerously close to her heart. It shook her like a rag doll and she screamed letting go of her breath. She noticed the water around her slowly being consumed by the redness of her own blood. She knew she had to do something fast or the hippo would rip her in half. She wretched around, not caring about them pain of torn flesh she had just given herself, and punched the hippo in the eye with all her remaining strength. It cried out, let go and swam away in a search for easier prey.

Wataki smirked to herself. She created a mask of water and bent out the water on the inside so she could breathe. She took in the air deeply and gasped in pain. If she did get out of this watery prison how would she survive her wounds?

Suddenly she began to glow and in a matter of moments she was completely healed. She smiled to herself _I'll have to teach that to Katara _she thought. She then searched for the air hole that had opened a door to this freezing hell. After a while of swimming in random directions, she caught a glimpse of the giant air-hole. She had smiled when she thought how shocked and happy Katara and Sokka would be when she crawled out of the ice hole. Sokka would probably lecture her on going to close to the breathing-hole.

She began to swim towards the hole. When suddenly an underwater current caught her and pushed her farther and farther away from breathing hole that led to her 'family'. The current was too strong to leave so since she had her water mask so she rode the extremely, EXTREMLEY fast moving for the next day. She had cried most of the way knowing that she would probably never see her water tribe family ever again.

After countless hours she was pushed to the surface of a bay. She felt the sun's and water's warmth and knew she was far from South Pole. She scanned the horizon and saw a far off break of land and swam to it. She reached by nightfall and collapsed on the beach and cried for her lost life. When she couldn't cry anymore she made camp on the beach and dried her only clothes and then she made up her mind that she would not return to South Pole. It broke her heart but this was her chance to head to the North Pole and master waterbending and her new found healing skills. She looked toward the rising sun.

She was going to the North Pole.

With that Wataki finished her story everyone applauded she bowed and sat down between Katara and the earthbender.

The earthbender turned to her and commented "Wow cool story, Crazy! The best part was that it was all true; I felt it with my own two feet! Not one part was made up."

Wataki smiled "Ahh! A blind earthbender-the human lie-detector. I met a one of you guys through my journeys in the Earth Kingdom. You folk are a really powerful bunch. By the way I didn't catch your name, what is it?"

"Toph, Toph Bei Feong." The blind girl stated. "Where did you find a blind earthbender?"

"We met at the bottom of Mt. Fawu, near the swamp lands. We became friends and travelled together. But we had run in with a Fire Nation army and she…died." She finished quietly.

Toph feeling a bit guilty for bringing up the subject and 'stared' at the ground.

Katara put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I understand how you feel, Wataki. We lost a few friends during our travels too" She said remembering Jet's death and Aang's near-death experience.

Wataki's face sparked for a second. "I forgot you were with the Avatar." Wataki got up and looked Katara in the eyes; a happy glimmer in the grey eyes met the confused look of the blue ones. "No offence but I can tell that you spent more time mastering the fighting arts of waterbending than the healing arts. I happen to be a master healer and if you want I could show you a healing technique that will help him heal faster."

Katara jumped up grabbed Wataki's hand. She would accept anyone's help to make Aang heal faster. He only did have two more months to finish mastering earth and master fire before the eclipse came. He needed all the training time he could get. She excused them both from the campfire and Katara practically dragged Wataki toward the tent.

"I take this as a yes." Wataki laughed as she entered the tent.

Wataki saw her patient, still in the same position that he had been in when she had first seen him, and became serious.

"Get me some healing water, and then take off his bandages off."

Katara did as she was told handing Wataki a jug and then slowly taking off Aang's bandages.

Wataki made a water glove over her hand with some of the water.

"Watch closely Katara, this is a very effective way to heal almost every wound."

Katara nodded keeping a sharp eye on the glowing hand.

"But before I do that I'm going to see what happened in his point of view. 'Kay."

She then put her non-glowing hand on his bald head and exhaled slowly. .

After a few moments Wataki's body began to spasm as if she was being hit by invisible lightning. The older girl jumped back snapping out of whatever trance that had locked her and Aangs souls together.

She looked at Katara, a bit of sweat forming on her forehead, and shook her head.

"Lightning wounds can only be healed by rest and regular healing sessions, even then, he's gonna have a nasty scar for the rest of his life." She saw Katara's face fall and pointed out the silver lining. "On the bright side every other wound he has I can heal in a heartbeat" She set the healing water on the table next to her. "Are you watching Katara?"

She nodded and moved closer to the cot.

Wataki used her hand covered in the healing water to bend out a long, skinny length of water. She found a deep burn and bent the water to cover the area of the wound. She placed the shaped water on the wound let it settle and folded another layer of water on top of the glowing liquid and another and another. When the wound was full of the layered, glowing water Wataki exhaled and compressed the water, inhaled and exhaled again, and the wound was completely healed with not one trace of it. The extra water dripped down Aang's side.

Wataki did the same with all of Aangs wounds except for the ones caused by Azula's lightning. She only cleansed them so an infection wouldn't start.

When she was finished she wrapped Aang's remaining wounds in clean bandages.

By the time Wataki did this she and Katara were the only ones awake. Sokka and Hakoda had come to check up on them earlier and the two teenagers had finally convinced the two men to go to bed and that they fine to stay up late.

When Aang was settled in Wataki turned to Katara.

"Hey Katara you wanna go for a swim and wash up. I kinda feel dirty and I could heal myself quicker if I was in the water." She said as she sniffed her arpit and made a face.

"But, it's almost midnight!" Katara countered.

"So? A midnight swim with a friend is always fun." Wataki said with a sneaky smile. "And I bet it's been a while since you been able to swim without Sokka looking at you all the time."

"You do put up a persuasive argument" Katara said with an equally sneaky smile growing on her face. This set off a giggle fit between the two teenagers until Wataki shushed for them to stop before they woke someone up.

They blew out all the lights in tent and snuck out of the large tent and tip-toed past the tents, both girls knew Toph would know they snuck to a midnight swim, but they both pushed it to the back of their minds. The moon lit their paths. They made their way down the beach until they were far enough and then they took off their clothes. In their underwear they wadded into the water.

Katara heard her friend sigh and become enclosed in a warm blue glow. Seeing that her friend was healed she swam into deeper water and just relished the feeling of being completely surrounded by cool water and the gentle moon watching her every move. She heard Wataki join her in deeper water. They soon returned to shallow water to practice their waterbending. They were passing a large shapely blobs of water around each other when Katara heard her friend sigh and gently place her water back into the ocean.

"Katara, I have to tell you something. If I don't tell someone soon I think I'll live up to Toph's nickname for me." Wataki said solemnly trying to joke.

Katara returned her water back to its source and moved to her friend. "What is it?"

"Please don't hate me and please don't tell anyone else, I will tell the others when the time is right." Wataki said as she moved her hand through the cool water.

"I promise." She said as she put her hand on Wataki's shoulder noting how serious this confession was going.

She sighed. "Three and a half years ago after I lost some good friends to the Fire Nation, I set a mission for myself: to sneak into the Fire Nation and kill the Fire Lord."

Katara stared at her friend. She was not surprised though, she knew Wataki well enough to know that she would die for her friends and kill anyone who even wanted to mess with her friends. Katara didn't say anything but led her friend to the beach, out of the water, and sat them both down on the cool sand. Wataki continued.

"Anyway I snuck into the Fire Nation claiming to be from the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. I actually became one of the Fire Nations top assassins. I gained the trust of the Fire Lord and one day I was invited to see him in an Agni-Kai–fire duel. Someone had apparently disrespected the Fire lord. The opponent ended up being a firebender that I fell in love with during my stay in the Fire Nation."

Katara couldn't believe her friend had fallen in love with a firebender. _Well, love is blind I guess Wataki didn't have a choice who she fell in love with._ Katara went back to listening to Wataki.

"He did not want to fight the Fire Lord, he said he meant him no disrespect, but the Fire Lord burned him anyway. I got so angry that I…I…"

"You what?" Katara pushed gently. She was afraid of the answer though.

"I jumped on to the platform and challenged him."

"You fought the Fire Lord?" Katara said her voice getting smaller with each word.

"Yeah, and the thing is Katara…" Wataki looked up at the glowing moon. Katara knew that her mind far away from this beach.

The suspense of what Wataki was going to say next was killing her! _WHAT HAPPENED?!! _Katara screamed inside her head.

Both girls faces revealed none of thier thoughts.

Finally, Wataki finished her sentence in a freezing-cold, determination filled voice.

"I won."

AN- Interesting chapter, I think some chapters are going to be this long a few might be longer. Please review. Still open to all comments/advice.

I want one more review before I post up the next chapter. But, get to me soon, I leaving tomorrow morning for a trip with some friends and I won't be back 'till Friday night. :)


	6. Chapter 6

I own nothing but my OC's

AN-AH! Screw it I'll give you the next chapter before I leave. (Looks at watch) Which is in 15 minutes! Crap! I gotta go! See you on friday:)

PS-Got a long one for ya!

Chapter 6

Katara had no idea what to say to Wataki.

Her best friend who she hadn't seen in four and a half years had managed to sneak into the Fire Nation, to avenge her friends' deaths, challenge the Fire Lord and just as a little added bonus manage to defeat the remaining nation's ultimate threat.

Before Katara could even process everything Wataki continued her story.

"We were equally matched in our abilities; the Fire Lord and I. For hours our fight raged on finally I encased ourselves in a dome so know one could see us. It was part of my new plan to use my victory as leverage with the Fire Lord."

Wataki took a deep breath before continuing. It was obviously a load off her mind.

"The battle continued inside the dome finally I got a clear shot of his neck and wounded him badly so a scar would always remain, but I made sure that I didn't kill him. Before I scared him for the rest of his life I whispered in his ear "It's over Ozai" and After I wounded him I purposely stuck my leg out and let one of his "rage of defeat attacks" burn me. I made the dome disappear so the audience could see my fake defeat."

"Later I was asked to have a private audience with the Fire Lord. I told him that if he left me and everyone I knew alone, that I would not take his throne and take over the Fire Nation as was custom if you defeated the current Fire Lord. He agreed and I left a few weeks after the battle, I told no one I left, so people automatically thought the Fire Lord had an assassin kill me."

"But only the Fire Lord besides me and now you know about the fake battle. He knows he cannot touch me or even send people to spy or kill me or my friends. Cause if I find out and I would, my mind powers would sense anyone trying to kill me and his country would disappear from under his feet and not even the Fire Sages could stop it."

She continued to look at the glowing moon and the shining stars for a few moments after she finished. She finally took her eyes off the "night travelers" and looked at her spell bound friend.

Katara still sat there as if she was frozen. The only telltale signs that she was not really frozen was her hair-loopies which swayed gently in the slight breeze and the occasional blink from her ocean blue eyes.

Wataki looked away toward the moon again with lonesome eyes. "I knew it was too much."

There was a long silence filled only by the smooth crashing of the waves and Appa's faint snoring.

Wataki was suddenly tackled to the ground and she felt a pair of hands wrap around her neck.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST TAKE OVER THE FIRE NATION AND END THIS WAR? ALL OF THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO HAPPEN!! AND WE COULD HAVE ALL BEEN HAPPY AND PEACEFUL!!!" Katara screamed as she strangled the older girl.

Wataki's hands went to Katara's wrists. She tried to unlatch the hands around her neck. But it was no use Katara's anger was giving her untold strength. She'd have to talk her way out of this one, and with Katara's temper flared and the fact that her wind pipes were not working too well at the moment, she knew it wasn't going to be easy. So she said the only thing that came to mind.

"The…gasp…Spirits…cough…told…gargle…me…wheeze…to!" Wataki managed to choke out between hard strangles and harder strangles.

Katara let go of Wataki's neck and but did not completely back off.

"Why would the SPIRITS tell you NOT to end this HUNDRED year WAR!?" Her voice was still angry beyond words but at least she wasn't squeezes away from killing Wataki.

Wataki sucked in the air, coughing and sputtering. _Breathe is definitely life!_ She thought to herself as she filled her starved lungs.

Wataki turned to Katara once her breathing was back to normal.

"Katara, I was as angry as you were when Avatar Roku appeared before me in a vision and told me to not end it all yet, because there were more important people to enter this war and that it would be awhile before even one of them joined in, but he said that once they all found each other that it would be me to help them in the final leg of their journey. I finally learned to accept this play of destiny by remembering that the Fire Lord would eventually suffer for the misery that he caused the world that he caused to me."

Wataki looked straight into Katara's eyes so that Katara could know that she was not lying about one word.

"Oh, Wataki!" Katara said through her trembling lips as she collapsed into the arms of her friend and began to cry. Wataki gathered Katara into her arms like she a child. She rested her chin on the crown of Katara's head.

"Shhh. Its okay, it's okay. I'm so sorry I surprised you, I just had to tell someone, it's been eating me alive for three years." Wataki stroked the waterbender's head and she soothed her.

"No Wataki I'm sorry." She sobbed into the older girl's slightly wet breast wrap reminding Katara that they were still in their underwear.

Katara didn't feel ashamed as she cried into Wataki's chest she knew Wataki would take it as an emotional let out and comfort her like the mother she had lost so many years ago. Doing this to Sokka or even Dad would eventually get her teased. She also felt safer doing this during the night; the moon was as good as keeping secrets as Wataki.

"I shouldn't have hurt you, I…I just don't know how to react to things anymore. It's been so hard! I mean with Aang and Ba Sing Ce and the Fire Nation on our tails every single friggin step we take." Katara managed between sobs. She looked up into the older girl's warm grey eyes. "I'm so sorry. You're as much a victim of this war as any us. You just seemed so pure and calm that it seemed that the war had yet to touch you, again. I didn't even guess that you had a big a part of this war as Aang, Sokka, Toph, and I."

"Katara" She responded softly as she stroked Katara's silky hair. _You have absolutely no idea how much I have affected this war and how much it has affected me. Not one._ Wataki kept her thoughts to herself Katara didn't need to know that part of her life, yet. Besides she was already too shaken up already she would not cause her even more confusion.

Both girls sat silently for long moments after, admiring the calm and slowness of the ocean.

"Wataki?" Katara questioned as the two girls stared at the continuing push and pull of the ocean.

"Yeah" Wataki answered lazily. Her eyes not leaving the shoreline.

"You remember what Avatar Roku said in your vision about you helping the final people on the last leg of their journey?"

"Yes" Wataki responded slowly.

"You know safe and concealed routes from here to the Fire Nation? And you also know how Fire Nation people dress, right." Katara continued her interrogation.

Wataki thought about where geographically Chameleon bay was, then about Fire Nation clothes and hair styles. Both would have them stopping at one place before entering Fire Nation waters.

"Yes I since lived there for a year, I got to study tons of shipping maps, I know of only one route that will get us past Fire Nation blockades without being noticed and it has a pit stop where I can get you guys into Fire Nation clothes." She knew where Katara was going with this.

"Then Wataki, can you bring us to the Fire Nation?"

It was Wataki's turn to be at a loss for words.

"Katara I…I …I don't know I mean sneaking one person in is one thing sneaking in five is a whole other story." Wataki turned away from Katara knowing all to well that Katara would try the puppy-dog face. One of the weakness Wataki had was Katara's puppy-dog face, the bad thing was Katara new that.

Wataki risked a glance to Katara. Bad risk. Katara had a full blown puppy-dog on and Wataki new she had lost. _Damn she has gotten good. Bet you anything she has been practicing on Sokka!_

The older girl smirked letting Katara know she had been the victor.

Katara hugged Wataki's back.

"Thank you. You have no idea how crucial it is for Aang to come out of his coma and master firebending as soon as possible. It would have taken us forever to track down Jeong Jeong and how hard it would have been to travel through the Earth Kingdom now that the Fire Nation has conquered it."

"When do we have to leave?" Katara asked after a long pause. Katara knew that with both the eclipse and the comet time was of the essence.

Wataki turned around and looked Katara right in the eye.

"You have a strong emotional bond with Aang don't you."

Katara nodded. "I think so; I am the only person who can bring him out of the Avatar state."

"I thought so." Wataki sat straight in front of Katara and crossed her legs in a meditative position. "Katara I want you to copy my position."

Katara did as she was told.

Wataki continued "I can give you, by your spiritual connection with Aang, a pretty close guess as to when he will wake up. You want to get him settled in a safe place in the Fire Nation before he wakes up so that as soon as he wakes up he can study firebending, right?"

"Yes"

"Alright then" Wataki said talking a deep breath then placing her pointer and middle fingers on her forehead. "Now I want you to close your eyes, breathe in through your nose and out though your mouth, and focus on Aang"

Katara listened. She suddenly felt a warm sensation through her entire body and it felt as though she was flying, as though she was traveling with someone through her memories.

She was abruptly pulled out of the happy feeling as soon as Wataki's fingers leave her forehead.

"Two days" Wataki said her face emotionless.

"What?"

"We have two days to pack and get ready and leave for the Fire Nation. We should reach the pit stop on your bison…" she said pointing to Appa lying on his back with a pool of drool next to his mouth "…in about a day and we should spend about three days on at the pit stop, and it will take us about another three days before we reach Fire Nation territory. Aang should only wake up a couple of hours after we find a safe place in the Fire Nation."

Katara's eyes were in a downcast, Wataki knew why and she placed a hand on Katara's shoulder. "We'll tell the others tomorrow and right now I suggest that we get a good couple of hours of sleep"

Katara's eyes were full of determination as she nodded.

Wataki got up and went towards their robes. She shook them to get the sand out and waterbended the water out of both their underwear and handed Katara's robe to her. Katara got up, put on her robe and followed Wataki back toward the tents. Katara had offered to share her tent with Wataki earlier so they had no worries of waking anyone up. The soon found their sleeping bags in the dark.

Katara quickly fell into a deep sleep but Wataki had too many thoughts to go to bed right her main concern was since she was going back to the Fire Nation after she knew that she would have to tell them sooner or later the real reason she agreed to come and who the rest world knew her as. She turned away from Katara's sleeping form.

_She will find out sooner or later._

_She will find out as soon as you land on your so-called pit stop._

_I will tell her before then. I have to. I won't hurt her anymore than I have to. Why did it have to be this beach I washed up on? I could have just washed up on another random beach, find Aang and Wataki could have stayed dead and life would have been that much easier!_

_Why do the Spirits always deal me such complicated cards? _

With that "Wataki" fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

Wataki woke up the second the sun rose. It had been three years but she had not yet managed to shake off the internal wake-up clock she had been forced to adapt when she entered the Fire Nation. 

Wataki sat up in her sleeping bag and looked at Katara. She was sleeping soundly; they did have a late night. Wataki slipped soundlessly out of her sleeping bag and left the tent. She relished in the warmth of the sun and the crispness of the morning.

No one else was up. Not even the warriors, the only movement was from the winged lemur that was obviously the "watch dog" for the night. She wasn't surprised, lemurs made great guards.

The green eyed creature glided down from his perch on the tip of a boat and landed expertly on her shoulder and held his hands out for food.

"Sorry little guy 'got no food for you." As she held out empty hands of her own.

The lemur chattered angrily and glided off somewhere.

She walked over to the shoreline and stared at her reflection in the water.

"I look terrible" she laughed as she looked at her poofy, knotted hair and her messed up robe. She had dried sea salt stuck to her face and dark circles under her eyes.

"Let's start with this hair" she said waterbending some water and letting it glide through each strand of hair.

Sokka woke up to the sound of splashing water.

He knew it too early for the rest of the tribe to be up and about. His first thought was they were being ambushed, he grabbed his boomerang. Then gently pushed back the flap of the tent, took a deep breathe for a warrior cry. He leapt out of the tent prepared to fight to the death.

"Morning Sokka" a calm voice greeted him.

He screamed and fell back into the tent. He bolted out of the tent and saw that it was Wataki and she was kneeling over the water scrubbing her face. From where Sokka was he could see that Wataki had pulled back her hair in long thick braid, she had two lengthily, thick strands of hair hanging on either side of her face framing it. She probably had it like that because it had grown too long to put in hair-loopies; she was like what sixteen now, her hair would have had to grown.

Sokka shook his head coming out of his thoughts and walked up to Wataki who was now finished her 'grooming' and working on some waterbending techniques.

"How did you know it was me?" Sokka asked tying his hair back in his warrior wolf tail, trying to sound and look cool.

Wataki streamed the water around her waist, then her legs and over her head before she slipped the water back to ocean. "Easy. My mind told me."

"How did you know?" Sokka still confused.

Wataki sighed and pointed to her head "Mind powers? Remember?"

"Ohh" Sokka said finally getting it.

"You still not a big fan of bending and mind powers?" Wataki said placing her hands on her hips.

"I'll stick by my boomerang and club, thank you very much!" He said turning around.

"You haven't changed a bit have you?" Wataki laughed as she hugged Sokka's back.

"Hey" Sokka argued "I am a man now" he said lifting his head and puffing out his chest.

Wataki couldn't help but laugh. She clung to her sides trying to breathe. Sokka began to laugh hysterically too.

"You haven't changed a bit" Wataki repeated punching him playfully in the arm.

Suddenly Wataki saw a white flash.

That one brief touch sent Wataki down a spiralling path through a spiritual connection Sokka had with a Kyoshi warrior. She saw the girl helping the very bison that was snoring on the beach several yards away from her. Then she saw the girl being attacked by a firebender who created blue fire.

The girl was nearly killed, then raped by the firebender's soldiers and left for dead.

Something seemed to force the girl to live; the love of a man seemed like the reason. The other girls who had been with her were completely dead and three of them, including her, had their clothes missing. The girl then walked naked for days until she found an abbey.

The sisters there took care of her and she was still there and doing well. Most interesting of all, the abbey was probably a half-a-days flight from here.

Sokka sensed something was wrong when Wataki froze right after lightly punching him.

"Wataki, Wataki! Are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked urgently.

Wataki came back and stared into his blue eyes which were filled with concern. Sokka needed to know this he obviously deeply cared for this girl, Suki.

"Sokka," she grabbed his shirt collar and brought his face close to hers "How long has it been since you've seen your girlfriend, Suki?"

Sokka now knew something was definitely up. "The last time I saw her was a the wall of Ba Sing Ce, she couldn't come with us because she had to return to the other Kyoshi warriors-"

"They were ambushed by firebenders"

"W…w…what?" Sokka's voices shrunk.

"Almost all the Kyoshi warriors died, she was the only survivor." Sokka did not need to know that the woman he loved was raped especially from her she would let Suki deal with that.

"What!" Sokka's voice came back.

"Right now she's in the care of some sisters at an abbey safe and sound and actually it is close enough to fly to in one day."

"I'm going to find Suki" Sokka said as he stamped his foot on the ground and ran back to his tent to pack.

Wataki followed him. "Sokka wait!" She waited for him to calm down a little bit before continuing.

"Please don't go yet! I have something to tell you before you make up your mind to go see Suki."

Sokka turned around "What could you possibly have to tell me that might change my mid about going to see Suki!?" Sokka was mad really, mad he wanted to break something and not even a peace-keeping, kind of ex-girlfriend that he hadn't seen in four years was going to keep him from leaving to take care and protect Suki, even though right now she didn't need either.

What the hell could Wataki have to tell him that was so important?

"WHAT!!?!?" being yelled at the top of Sokka's lungs was the first thing Katara heard that morning. She glanced at the sleeping bag next to her; it was empty.

"Wataki told Sokka" she sighed.

Katara pulled herself out of the sleeping bag and pulled a comb out of her travel bag. She fixed up her hair and put in her hair-loopies. She was in absolutely no rush to go outside to meet an angry Sokka and a frustrated Wataki.

When she heard her father and his men rush out of their tents to see what was going on, she left the comfort of her own tent too.

She lifted the flap of her tent of her tent just in time to hear her father ask what was going on.

Sokka could only manage fast, garbled words.

Wataki stepped up to save at least a little bit of Sokka's dignity.

"Ahh, Wataki." Hakoda nodded "I'm sure I can count on you to tell me what is going on."

Wataki lowered her head "Yes" She took a deep breath and looked up at Hakoda who had a confused look on his face. "You see…"

Wataki spilled out her story of going to the Fire Nation, leaving out the part about her firebender boyfriend and of course the fight with the Fire Lord, Katara wasn't surprised that she didn't tell them. They did not need to know those two parts. She also told them about the only safe route between here and the Fire Nation.

"…and so you see Chief Hakoda for to be efficient with the little time we have before the Avatar wakes up. If we leave, at the very least, two days from now we should have him in a safe place in the Fire Nation by the time he wakes up and he can begin his firebending training right away." Wataki finished not breaking eye contact with Hakoda.

"I see" he said placing his hand on his chin in a thoughtful way. "How do know when the Avatar will wake up?"

"My practice as a master healer and my powers of the mind."

"Dad, we need to go Aang needs to learn firebending before the eclipse and the comet arrive and Wataki's plan is the only one we have to help get to the invasion plan." Katara said finally breaking into the conversation. Wataki lifted an eyebrow at the mention of the invasion plan.

Sokka finally got a hold of his tongue. "What about Suki?!"

Everyone except Wataki shot a confused look at Sokka.

"I saw Suki in a vision when I punched Sokka's arm." Everyone's attention switched from Sokka to Wataki. "She was nearly killed and right now she is in the care of some sisters at a nearby abbey. I told Sokka this and he wants to go see her." Wataki stated.

"Yeah, what she said." Sokka said, not to be outdone.

Wataki saw that Hakoda was completely lost.

"May I take charge of the situation Chief Hakoda?" Wataki said as she bowed to the Chief.

He nodded.

Wataki took to the lead like the general of an army. "Through my travels in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, I learned how to organize and play out extremely effective battle strategies. Normally as a battle-tried warrior I would be able to see more than one way out, but in this case…" Wataki looked sadly over to Katara then back at Hakoda "I'm afraid there is no other way since the both the comet and the eclipse are coming and time is of the essence."

"What about Suki?" Sokka interrupted

Wataki nodded at Sokka. "If you feel as though you need to see Suki, we will pack everything we need today, which will not be too much and leave first thing tomorrow morning. So we will not loose time on our journey to the Fire Nation."

This seemed to satisfy Sokka.

She turned toward Katara.

"Katara when exactly is the eclipse coming?"

"Two months from now" Katara said.

Everyone could sense the two girls getting a determination that would let them stop at nothing until they were in the Fire Nation.

"I'm not sure you know what happens to firebenders on an eclipse. Anyone who is a firebender looses their firebending abilities and become extremely weak and non-benders of the Fire Nation loose there energy and their sight is lost."

Wataki pointed toward the tent where Aang was slowly healing.

"The Avatar is unaffected by this if his or her original nation is not the Fire Nation. Avatar Aang for example will not be affected by this because even though he is a firebender his original nation is the Air Nomads."

Everyone was in awe of what Wataki was saying. They all wondered how she got so knowledgeable in the facts of the Avatar and more importantly facts about the eclipse.

"Chief Hakoda, I would like to ask you to do us a favour while we are in the Fire Nation" How Wataki learned to organize things so well was a mystery to everybody on the beach.

"Of course." Hakoda said stepping down from his position as leader. He knew Wataki was more qualified to be the leader right now.

"Katara and Sokka I'm sure that you, like me, have made many friends through your journeys have met some friends who you know will support you in the final battle. Unfortunately all the ones I met are either dead or are loyal to the Fire Nation. I'm sure you have a couple that aren't either of those two. Please tell their names and where they can be found to your father."

Wataki turned back to Hakoda. _What a _speech She thought to herself.

"Chief Hakoda I want you to find and gather as much of them as you can and then head for the North Pole. Once Aang has gotten a good handle on firebending we will head to the North Pole as well so we can discuss our final means of attack, organize the most efficient army and also so Aang can rest after the tireless training of firebending. Then we will head back to the Fire Nation and on the day of the eclipse we will have our final battle." Wataki ended strongly.

It was complete silence.

The phrase: "_Ohh! Fuck, I over did it! Fuck, I over did it! Fuck, I over did it!!!" _Ran around and around her head until she thought she couldn't stand it.

Suddenly thunderous whoops and cheering filled the air.

Katara walked up to Wataki and put a hand on her shoulder. "Where did you learn to do that?" All of a sudden Katara grew confused. "How did you know that information about the eclipse and the comet?"

Wataki shrugged "You told me I heard you mention it earlier so I searched through you memories as I was talking and learned what I could about both celestial events in the few seconds I had."

Katara's hands flew to her head. "That's creepy!"

"Sorry I won't do it again without permission" She said as she put a hand on Katara's shoulder to calm her down.

"As for the speech well, when you live in a world where it's kill or be killed, you kind of pick it up as you go along."

"Come on you three you have some packing and organizing to do" Hakoda said placing a hand on Katara's and Sokka's shoulder.

Toph made her way through the mingling Water Tribe warriors and walked right up to the three Water Tribe adolescents.

"What the hell is going on? All I can feel is confusion, surprise and confidence from everyone on this damn beach."

"Were leaving for the Fire Nation tomorrow and were stopping to check up on Suki on the way there." Katara said walking away from Wataki, Sokka, and her father who were discussing further into the matter of their final trip.

"Well that was quick. I was kind of hoping that we stay and relax for a few more days."

Toph scrunched up her toes.

"Hey, I must have missed a great speech or something 'cause you feel lighter for some reason." Toph said adding her normal sarcastic tone to the beginning.

"Yah, Wataki is something else…" Katara's mind drifted off. "Oh wait I have to tell you that Wataki lived in the Fire Nation for a year and that she knows a safe route from here to the Fire Nation and she's going to take us through it. She's also going to find us a safe place to keep Aang. Things are looking up Toph." She said smiling.

"Oh, Toph, can you help Sokka with the packing? He needs someone to hold him back so he doesn't pack too much. I have to talk with my father and Wataki. See you later!" Katara said heading towards her father and her friend.

"Yah, see you later Sugar Queen" Toph said as she walked toward Sokka and Appa.

_There's something familiar about Crazy. I'm almost sure I've met her before, but where? _Toph thought.

* * *

Wataki managed to pull herself away from the bustling and rush of the sudden rush to leave and sneak into the medical tent. 

She sighed as she looked at the unconscious airbender lying on the cot. She needed some time alone with the poor boy.

She pulled a stool up to the cot and sat next to his head. She stroked his bald head and kissed him on the forehead.

_It's been awhile Aang but I bet you'll remember me as clear as if you would have seen me yesterday. As soon as you wake up we will resume our training together, I have much to teach you now, Aang, and I think a hundred year break is enough of a break for the both of us. It will be just like old times at the Air Temple. _

_Spirits, I've missed you._

Wataki continued to stroke his head for a while. She finally sat up kissed his forehead for the final time and left his side.

Once she had her back turned to the young Avatar she thought. _Don't wake up too soon. You are the only one here who can reveal my true identity. They are not ready for it. I will tell them, just give me some time._

Wataki left her one-sided conversation with the airbender to rejoin Katara and the rest of the Gaang in packing.

_Please don't wake up soon, I have to tell them before you do._

AN-(I wrote this before my intro.)Whoa, long one! I hope the heart-to-heart Katara and Wataki had at the beginning wasn't too bad. Interesting ending don't you think. HAHAHA, I'm evil. Can anyone guess what is really up with Wataki?

It's like 12:20am right now. Does anyone else feel like they work better when it's pitch black with only the computer for light and you're the only one awake in the whole house or is it just me?

Please review and tell me if you want me to continue long ones or to make shorter ones and if it was good or not.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!


	7. Chapter 7

I own nothing but my OC's

Chapter 7

Katara couldn't believe it.

After four months of travelling through the Earth Kingdom, from Southern Water Tribe to Northern Water Tribe, the Gaang was on the final leg of their of their journey, all thanks to Wataki. Katara would have never guessed in a million years that her long lost friend would be the one to lead them into the Fire Nation and find a firebending teacher for Aang.

Katara lifted her head from her small bundle of essentials that she was packing for their trip. _Where is Wataki?_ She thought.

She added one more thing to her bundle and left the tent to look for Wataki. She saw the sixteen year old leave the medical tent where Aang was and walk up to Hakoda. _She must have been checking Aangs wounds. _

Katara walked up to Wataki and father.

"Hey Katara I'm going to go hunt for some meat in the forest up the river." Wataki said pointing to the river that fed the bay. "If Sokka is the same as he's always been about meat I think were going to need the extra food. Besides I need the exercise and you know that I can't stay in one place for long."

Katara knew as well as Wataki that Wataki was a free spirit never meant to be sitting around doing nothing, unless she wanted to. She was always the first one to jump at the chance to go hunting, fishing, or to build something. So this sudden urge to hunt and be useful was nothing special from Wataki.

"While your doing that Wataki, I'll talk to dad about the friends we've met around the Earth Kingdom and Sokka and Toph can finish tying all our supplies to Appa, since we don't have a saddle anymore" Katara said suddenly missing the hundred year old saddle.

Wataki nodded. "We'll leave first thing tomorrow to the abbey so Sokka will have some time with Suki."

"Excuse me Hakoda do you have any bow and arrows I can borrow? I find it always interesting to try things without my bending" Wataki asked politely.

"Of course" Hakoda said as he called one of the men on the boats to throw down a bow and arrow. The man disappeared for a few moments and threw down a bow and a couple of arrows.

"Here you go Wataki" He said handing the weapons to Wataki.

She bowed as she took them. "Thank you, I will return them."

"I'll see you later Katara." Wataki said before putting the arrow sash around her chest and running off towards the river.

Katara smiled and wondered if Wataki knew how much hope she had given the world.

"So should I get some paper or are their only a few to memorize?" Hakoda asked jokingly.

Katara gently elbowed him in the stomach.

"Dad" Katara said with a small laugh on her voice.

She looked back to the river to see that Wataki already made it to the river and was headed towards the forest.

_Whoa! She runs fast!_

"Maybe you should get some paper, dad, because I have one heck of a list"

Hakoda laughed. He put an arm around Katara and led her to a large tent with a map inside to point out exactly where their friends were.

Several hours later Katara walked out the tent with her father carrying a long scroll.

"So after we get as many people as we can we head for the North Pole and you'll either be waiting there for us or be their after us in a week at the most." Hakoda asked his daughter.

Katara nodded. She looked around the campsite, the warriors along with Sokka were patching up a boat that was damaged earlier in the week when the Earth Kingdom was still the Earth Kingdom, and Toph was checking the knots on Appa for tightness.

Momo glided down from his perch on the tip of one of Appa's horns and landed on Katara's shoulder, then jumped down and pawed at a leather sack filled with leachy nuts. Momo's own way of telling people he was hungry. It hadn't taken the group long to learn that after they found the lemur at the Southern Air Temple, since he was always hungry.

Katara giggled at the gesture. "Alright, but only if you do your trick for Wataki."

Katara knew her friend would get a good laugh of seeing the lemur fly over to Sokka, pull out the string that held his 'Warrior Wolf Tail' and fly away with it for awhile. Aang and Katara had taught him to do that soon after they found him, it always got Sokka mad at the lemur and it was funny to watch him chase the lemur for a string. Cruel, but funny.

"Hey Wataki!" Katara called but she got no answer.

"She still hunting" Toph said from behind Appa. "I'm not surprised; I haven't felt any vibrations from any animals the entire time I've been here."

"But its way past noon and it'll be dark in a few hours." Katara said knowing full well that Wataki was a waterbending master and was completely capable of taken care of herself. But Katara worried anyway

"She should be near the river if you want to look for her, just follow it, you gotta find her sooner or later"

"Thanks Toph, can you tell dad that I'll be back before dark if I don't find Wataki?"

"Sure thing Sugar Queen." Toph answered coming out from behind Appa, sitting down and petting Momo.

Katara smiled and turned towards the river. She knew Toph cared about Aangs two white fur balls as much as the rest of them, even though she didn't show it often.

* * *

Wataki was well hidden in the trees. She had her eyes fixed on a near by elk-deer. The creature let down its guard to munch on some apples that had fallen off a tree. She lifted the bow to her face placed an arrow in it and pulled it taut. She had a clean target, she aimed for the heart. 

_Easy, easy one more step_ Wataki thought as the creature continued to eat.

She locked on to her target for the final time and let go.

The arrow whistled through the air and hit its target with bull's-eye accuracy. The elk-deer didn't even see it coming. When the arrow pieced its heart it struggled for a second before collapsing dead on the forest floor.

Wataki jumped down for the tree and punched the air. "Yes! I can still rival the yu-yan archers. Ha!"

Wataki walked over to the deer. "This should be enough to last us to the Fire Nation." She said as she checked over the fairly large deer.

Wataki reached for the knife in her shoe, to gut the animal before bringing it back to camp. She pulled out the knife and looked at it in surprise. It was still there after the fall of Ba Sing Ce. She shrugged it off, it was just a knife.

_But it was __**his**__ knife, that's why you care for it. __**He**__ gave to you and by keeping it you hope to keep the flame of your love alive. HA ADMIT IT! You still love him! I win!_ She laughed to herself.

_Whatever!_

She kept the knife though; a knife was always handy.

Wataki set the bow and extra arrows aside and placed the knife, ready to cut open the elk-deer's stomach.

Just as soon as she stabbed the dead creature she heard a piercing howl and was knocked away from the deer and rammed into the thick trunk of a tree.

Her attacker howled again and growled bearing its teeth at her. Soon the beast was joined by more of its kind, cornering Wataki against the tree. Wataki stood up to look more frightening to her attackers. She could see now that her attackers were half-starved armadillo-wolves. She wasn't surprised, hunting seemed pretty bad here, it had taken her 4 hours to find and track one big stupid deer.

"Alright poochies I know your hungry but, I need my hunt. I'll leave the guts for you. So please leave me alone and we both go home happy, Kay!" All she got were heavier growls and more teeth. _What the HELL are you DOING! You're reasoning with carnivores that are starved and completely surrounding you. How stupid are you! Figure a way out of this that does not involve you becoming dinner for the locale wildlife!_

Wataki counted her disadvantages. _One: no water around, so no waterbendie. Two: bow and arrow next to deer so none of that. Three: Knife is in the deer's gut so no to that too. Only way out is…AW CRAP! _Sometimes she hated being who she was. _Spirits please, please do not let anyone see this! _Wataki begged inside her mind.

Wataki waved her arms over her head. "I don't want to hurt you but if you insist…"

* * *

Katara had been looking for Wataki for at least an hour. 

_Where the hell is she!? _Katara thought to herself.

_Be patient you're looking for the girl who was one of the best hunters in your tribe and a year later defeated the Fire Lord. It's probably gonna be at least a little hard to find her don't you think._

Katara was about to give up her search for Wataki and return to camp when she heard a faint, familiar, unfaltering voice coming from deeper in the forest.

"Alright poochies I know your hungry but, I need my hunt. I'll leave the guts for you. So please leave me alone and we both go home happy, Kay!"

Heavy growling and angry barks followed the smooth talking.

_Wataki! _Katara screamed inside her head but only a whisper escaped her mouth.

Katara crashed through the woods following the heavy growling. She saw Wataki cornered at a tree by about 15 hungry armadillo-wolves surrounding her.

Katara paused behind a tree before attacking the wolves. She took a deep breath, drew out her water. She peeked over the side of the tree to see Wataki wave her arms above her head.

"I don't want to hurt you but if you insist…" Wataki said with more confidence than any normal waterless waterbender surrounded by hungry armadillo-wolves should have.

_What the hell is she doing?_ Katara thought as she pulled back behind the tree. She heard Wataki take a deep breath and jump. Katara froze when she heard an all too familiar crackling sound coming from behind her. _No that's IMPOSSIBLE! _

Katara heard more and more crackling sounds, soon the cries of hurt wolves, snapping jaws and more and more growling.

Katara forced herself to look once more around the tree; she had to know the truth.

What her eyes saw she didn't believe, she couldn't. Tears began to form in Katara's eyes, her vision became blurry. She dropped her bending water, letting it seep into the soil of the forest.

_How could she, that FUCKING BITCH!? HOW COULD SHE!?_

Katara ran back to camp. Katara had to warn her father. He didn't know, none of them did. Wataki must have been after Aang. _Then why did she help him? Why was she going to help them!?_ The only thing that Katara did know was that as soon as Wataki came back to camp they'd be ready for her.

Katara ran as fast as her legs could pump. She had to get back to camp she had to tell them about Wataki.

Katara made the sharp turn where the river fed out into the bay and the beach. She tripped and landed face first into the sand but she managed to keep running. She probably looked as though a demon was after her and that it was going to swallow her soul if it even touched her. She knew they were probably laughing at her right now.

But Katara knew they wouldn't laugh at what she had to say. They might not believe her at first but they wouldn't laugh. Okay maybe they would.

Katara finally reached camp and collapsed in the sand gasping for breath like a fish out of water. Everyone rushed up to Katara; even Momo was perched on Toph's shoulder.

Toph was the first to speak up. "What the hell happened? You're scared to death!"

Katara continued to gasp for air. _Great I'm here but I'm to out of breath to say anything!_

"…Wataki…" was all Katara managed to say before having to suck air back into her lungs again.

Sokka jumped in. "Back up! Give her some air!" Sokka placed a gentle hand on Katara's shoulder. But when Katara stared into his eyes it was all concern and worry. "What's wrong with Wataki?" Sokka heard his own voice slow down "She's hurt isn't she? No she's dead, she's dead for good now isn't she?" His voice starting to crack.

Katara shook her head. How was she supposed to tell her family that their most important ally had such a terrible secret?

"Wataki…is…a…" Katara said as soon as she found her breath.

"Wataki is a what?" Sokka, Hakoda and Toph all pressed at the same time.

Katara gulped "A…a…firebender." Katara's small voice reached everyone in the circle around her.

A chorus of surprised gasps rang from all around her.

Sokka shook his head in disbelieve. "That's impossible! She's a waterbender. I saw her waterbend this morning!"

"I know that Sokka but all I know is that I saw her firebend. She was surrounded by armadillo-wolves she had no weapons and she didn't have a water skin. So she fought the pack with firebending."

"You're saying that we have no clue about our most important ally at the moment." Hakoda said coming out of the circle surrounding Katara.

Sokka stood up "Yes, and I think that it would be safer for all of us if we had a little history lesson as soon as 'Wataki'" Sokka made quotes with his fingers "returns."

A herd of nods followed the young warrior's statement.

"Yah! Let's teach that Crazy what's what, she can't hide from us!" Toph added.

More nods, everyone was well accustomed to Toph's nickname for Wataki by now.

Katara just pulled her knees up to her chest and let a single tear roll down her cheek.

_Why is everything going wrong!?_ She screamed inside her head.

* * *

"See I told you!" Wataki said to the wounded wolves around her, they were all either limping around or licking there wounds. 

"I told you guys not to make me fight you, but NO you guys had to all tough and well…wolf like and attack me. Look at you guys now, not so tough are you. Next time you better observe your prey better, even if you have it outnumbered. Kay!" Wataki finished with a smile.

The wolves around her only whimpered, Wataki sighed and went back to gutting the elk-deer.

The wolves continued to whimper and Wataki gave in. "Stop crying. Let me see." She said bending the blood from the deer into a red, sticky healing glove. It began to glow and Wataki went around healing all the wolves with the deer's blood. _HA! Now that's irony!_ When Wataki was finished with the wolves she stepped back protecting her hunt with her body. "Alright, now do you feel better?"

The wolves tackled her and began licking her face and wagging their tails uncontrollably. "Alright, alright I get it you're thanking me." She said through the pink tongues covering her face. She pushed the animals off her and stood up. She saw that the pack of ferocious wolves had turned into a bundle of tongue lagging puppies. Wataki laughed and went back to gutting the deer. As she did that she gave the pieces of the deer's inside that she knew they couldn't use to the hungry wolves, who gobbled it up happily.

Wataki was soon finished and she lifted the deer over her shoulders holding on to its legs. She left the wolves with there easy meal and headed back toward camp. Her thoughts began to bug her again.

_You're gonna have to tell them soon you can't just bring them into the Fire Nation and say 'Oops I forgot to tell you. Not only am I a waterbending master, but I'm also the greatest, most feared firebender the entire world has ever seen.'_

_I'll tell them soon kay! _

_C'mon_

_Tonight! _

_As if!_

_As soon as I get there! There are you happy!_

_Very._

_Spirits! I can be so infuriating!_

Wataki made her way thoughtlessly back to camp. The deer's weight only began to bug her when she entered the small campsite. It looked deserted. But the boats were still there.

"Hello is anyone here?" She asked as she placed the deer on a large plank of driftwood. Her only answer was a grunt from the bison.

She walked towards the boats. "Hello?" She turned her back to the boats.

She heard the small whistle of a boomerang from behind her and she was immediately surrounded by ropes and her feet were encased in solid rock, soon two rock pillars jutted out of the sand to help hold in place.

Wataki just stared, watching it happen. She could have easily stepped out of the way of the boomerang and dodged the 'earth shoes' and the two pillars, but she didn't. She had to tell them the truth and by the looks of things they already knew a part that she wasn't to proud of. Wataki didn't move, she didn't even struggle against the earth and rope. _The secrets end here._

Katara, Sokka, Toph, and the Water Tribe Warriors jumped off the boats. Sokka ran up to her and pressed the blade of his club to Wataki's throat. It felt cool against her skin, she was used to death threats so the feeling of a blade at her neck didn't disturb her, it was the eyes of the blades master that rung out her soul, so full of anger and hurt. But, there was more pain to be had, on both sides.

Wataki hung her head as she saw Katara's tear streaked face and her sad and confused expression. _I've already hurt her so much._ Wataki hated herself at that moment.

The warriors surrounded the girl in a circle all had there arms ready at any sign of a fight.

Hakoda walked up to Wataki and Sokka. He was about to speak but Sokka blew up before his father.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!? HOW CAN YOU FIREBEND?! THE WATAKI I KNEW COULDN'T FIREBEND EVEN IF SHE WANTED TO!!!" Sokka yelled at her face. To everyone surprise her face stayed emotionless.

Wataki looked around, everyone around her seemed poised to attack her, to kill her, everyone except Katara. Who just looked at her with a sad question on her face; why?

"ANSWER ME 'WATAKI'!" Sokka continued to yell.

Wataki looked Sokka deep in the eyes. "My name is not Wataki and I'm not from the Water Tribe" A wave of gasps followed her confession. _Such manly men!_ She thought as she rolled her eyes.

"I knew it!" Toph yelled coming out from the sidelines. "I knew I recognized you, but I had never met waterbender until Katara." Toph pushed Sokka out of they way and jabbed a finger in Wataki's general direction. "Who are you?! How do I know you!?"

The grey eyed girl smirked at the blind one. "I thought I taught you to recognize people, pupil Toph" Everyone jumped back even Toph.

_This couldn't be her! She died along with the other benders at the battle for the Earth Kingdom, three and a half years ago. _Toph thought as she 'stared' wide-eyed at the trapped girl.

"Exia?" Toph managed.

The girl laughed "Yeah, that's the name you know me by but, it's still not my real name. I buried that name with the rest of the benders who died in that final battle."

Katara finally spoke up. "Then who the hell are you, if your not Wataki or Exia? What do you want from us!!?"

The girl looked into her former friend's face _Things can't get worse! _The grey eyed girl sighed. "I only came here to get the Avatar; I didn't expect you, Sokka, and Toph to be his companions. The spirits told me it was finally time to go get him and help him finish our task."

"OUR TASK!!? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN: 'OUR TASK'!? WHO ARE YOU!!!???" Katara yelled. She walked up and stood firmly in front of the girl; she was not leaving without an answer.

The girl looked away then looked back to Katara and lifted her head proudly.

"I am Avatar Airis of the Air Nomads"

AN- I know I named myself after one of my OC's. So let's get facts straight, so no one goes around and calls me bad names and bitches about me.

1) Avatar Airis is an Avatar: the last Airbender character I made up.

2) I thought she was really cool so I named myself after her

3) To show that she is my character and nobody else's.

Simple as that, so there is no reason to hate me.

Please review-they give people a happy boost that makes chapters come faster:)

PS- I'll post the next chapter when I get 2 more reviews


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender

AN- Hey, you guys before I start the next chapter I just want to say something:

I GOT 1000 HITS ON THIS STORY! I know 1000 hits isn't a lot on FanFiction. But I'm happy anyway:) Back to the story!

The confession! hehehe

Chapter 8

"You can't be the Avatar! Aang is! There is only one Avatar. There can't be two!" Katara said. She was riding a roller coaster of confusion. Just as soon as one thing became clear another fogged it up.

"Hey! I don't make the rules. For some reason there are two of us and only the spirits can answer why." Airis said not giving up any ground. "I didn't choose to be the Avatar and neither did Aang. We play with the cards were dealt. We don't choose our destinies!" Airis looked away and spoke softly "but we can control them." She looked at Katara with hard eyes. "That's about all we get!"

The people around her went silent, each one new exactly what that statement meant.

Airis sighed. Knowing this was more confusion then anyone could handle, she decided to start things off at the beginning.

"I'm guessing that Aang told you that he was really 112 years old even though for 100 of them he was frozen in an iceberg." Airis asked the group. They nodded. "Same goes for me except I was stuck in the Avatar state underground in elaborate magma tunnels and I only came up four years ago when Mt. Fawu erupted so technically I was in the tunnels for 95 and a half years"

Airis looked at Toph. "That's how I met the benders, Toph. I met Eema, an earthbender and Faikai, an orphan of the Fire Nation Colonies who turned out to be a firebender, when they found me at the bottom of Mt. Fawu when it erupted."

"I left Mt. Fawu and my new friends to master waterbending, I had known I was the Avatar since I was four, imagine, Aang thought learning when he was twelve was tough imagine my confusion at four! Anyway I first learnt waterbending foggy swamp style with the swamp-billies. Awesome bunch of people. I mastered that in about a week and left for the South Pole. You know the rest."

"How did you get inside a magma tunnel?" Sokka asked pointing his club at her throat. At least it wasn't on her throat, Airis relaxed a bit. But hung her head when she remembered his question, she looked away.

"You've all heard about Fire Lord Sozin and his ambush on the Air Nomads."

Everyone nodded.

Airis sighed. "I was there, I fought…but I couldn't save my people." Airis slumped over her hair covering her face. Katara heard soft crying sounds coming from Wata-…er Airis. Katara's face softened as she remembered the time Aang had found out that his people had been massacred by the Fire Nation. He had gone into the Avatar state and had almost blown Katara and Sokka clear off the Southern Air Temple. Aang had only been depressed for one night after. She knew he had stuffed all his anger and sadness deep inside him, almost forgotten. After that Aang only brought up the murder of his people when he felt he absolutely had to.

Katara looked back to Airis. Even though she had hated the girl minutes ago she couldn't even imagine the pain of seeing her entire people wiped out right before her very eyes. Aang had not been there to fight and he often hated himself for it. But, Katara believed deep inside that no one on earth would have lived through that and was silently happy that Aang had not been there, at the inevitable end of the Air Nomads; his people, his family.

Airis hauled her head back up and looked at Katara with her grey eyes glistening with tears and her tear stained face. Airis choked back sobs as she spoke. "It was a blood bath; I couldn't do anything to stop it. Sure I was an airbending master, but the firebenders…they…they were so powerful all thanks to a stupid comet." Airis turned her head away from the waterbender. "I tried to go into the famous Avatar state that was supposed to give me untold power. And I finally did, when I saw my mother die right in front of me. Airbender children never get to know there parents but I accidentally found my mother and she became my master and we developed an unbreakable bond."

Tears began to well in Katara's eyes. She knew her pain the exact same thing happened to her so many years ago. She missed her mother so much.

"When she died I couldn't control myself. I let my anger get the best of me. I went into the Avatar state. But instead of saving my people I just set up a target for myself and surprised the airbenders fighting around me, letting them get caught off guard and killed. They didn't know I was the Avatar. I knew they knew Aang as the Avatar. My mother and I were the only ones who knew that I was also the Avatar, for some fucked up reason."

Airis took a deep breath and looked around. Everyone seemed captivated in her story. _They have no idea how hard it is for me to say this_ Airis thought to herself.

Hakoda surprised everyone by speaking up. In a calm voice he said "Please continue"

Airis nodded her head solemnly. Katara noticed her grey eyes had lost their usual happy and relaxed shine and now were completely taken over by a ripping sadness she, Sokka, and Aang knew all to well. It tore at Katara's heart to know that she had caused Airis remember so much pain.

Katara took a step forward "You don't have to Airis."

Everyone looked at Katara in shock, except for Airis. She just stared at the girl, silently thanking her kindness and understanding.

"No, you guys will have to learn this sooner or later. I'd rather it now." Airis continued. "Fire Lord Sozin found me and challenged me in the Avatar state, we fought but I soon came out of it. Just soon enough to not be in the Avatar state when Sozin hit me with lightning sending over the side of the mountain into the inside of a volcano. I was in a barley conscious state but I managed to create an air bubble around me before I crashed into the boiling magma. When I was completely surrounded by magma I went into the Avatar state again and created a solid rock shield made out of the magma and I ended up being stuck in a stupid rock for ninety-five years, in the Avatar state." Airis turned to Sokka who was still pointing his weapon at her exposed throat.

"Is that a good enough answer for you?" Airis said to the young warrior. Sokka nodded stiffly in response. Even the "big brother" had been affected by Airis's story. But Airis could see the tell tale signs of anger in his blue eyes.

"I am so, so sorry I misused your trust, Katara and all of you." The female Avatar told the Water Tribe and the blind earthbender, lifting her head up. "But, I didn't know what else to do. You have no idea how complicated my life has been for the past four and a half years." Katara could see that Airis was truly sorry for her action, Katara didn't blame her, and if she had been in Airis's place she was sure that she would have done the same thing. Katara was ready to fully forgive the young Avatar though sure she wasn't sure the others would be quick to forgive her.

"Chief Hakoda may I show you how truly sorry I am." Airis asked the middle-aged chief.

He nodded. Airis looked around at the tribe silently asking them permission for something they did not know.

Airis wiggled her fingers and the two solid pillars became sand and so did the rock boots. The warriors jumped slightly and pointed their weapons to the sixteen year old. She gave them a look that was as calm as a pond, to reassure them. She closed her eyes, slowly exhaled, and the ropes that held her arms to her body slowly burned away and landed on the beach as ashes. She then wiped her eyes with her arm and sniffed; sucking in the pain. The Avatar bended some water out of the ocean and walked over to Chief Hakoda, the water levitating in an orb shape in her left hand.

No one made a move to attack her and she made no move to anyone. "Chief Hakoda, her hair is one of the most prized positions a female airbender posses. She will never cut it unless she feels she has to." Airis bended the water into a long sliver and grabbed the end of her braid. She quickly cut off a small bit of the end of her hair. The clump of hair was fairly big, even though her overall hair didn't seem to have shortened a bit. Airis went to her knees and offered the clump of her hair to Hakoda.

"I feel as though I must give this piece of my hair as an offering since you placed hard earned trust in me and I just destroyed it. I do not expect your trust in return, but I must make sure the other Avatar completes his training." Hakoda took the hair awkwardly, unsure what to do with it.

"My life belongs to the Water Tribe. I will do anything you say as long as I can help Aang."

When Hakoda didn't answer Katara stepped in. "We need her to get into the Fire Nation safely- wait a minute" Katara came to a realization. "You're a firebender why don't you teach Aang!"

Airis looked into Katara's eyes. They were dancing with hope; she hated being the one to sweep it away. "I can, but we would still have to go to the Fire Nation. Aang needs to see how the Fire Nation has changed and to gain his own perspective on firebenders. Aang has already seen what has happened to the Air, Water, and Earth Nations it is the Fire Nations turn. It's a process every Avatar must undergo."

"Damn it!" Katara cursed not bothering to argue with the Air Nomad.

Airis slowly stood. "Does this mean you'll allow me to take you to the Fire Nation?"

Katara turned around. Words got stuck in her throat and before she could say anything Airis spoke.

"I don't expect you to fully trust me. But I want you to trust me enough to let me guide you through the Fire Nation and to help the other Avatar with his training." Airis continued to look at Katara "I do have one selfish reason why I want to be with Aang; I want to learn why there were two of us. I can only get the answer once I find him and we go to the spirit world together."

Katara looked at her brother, then Toph. She asked them both a silent question, they both nodded. Katara turned to Airis and nodded. "We will continue as planned but as soon as we get Aang safely in the Fire Nation you teach him firebending. Deal?" Katara asked as she held her hand out to the Avatar.

Airis took the waterbenders hand. "Deal"

Both girls nodded with determination.

"Well, that's settled then" Katara said dropping the feud. "We leave tomorrow morning to see Suki and then we head for the Fire Nation."

"What!" Sokka ran up to Katara. "Are you crazy!?"

"Sokka think about it" Katara said putting a gentle hand on her brother's arm. "Airis is a fully realized Avatar. She can teach Aang both firebending and things he doesn't know about his Avatar spirit. Besides now we have two Avatars fighting on are side. Do see the advantage that gives us, now that the Fire Nation has conquered the Earth Kingdom."

Sokka sulked "Fine." He ran up to Airis and threatened her with his club. "But I still don't trust you."

"I understand" Airis' face showed no emotion.

"Okay" Hakoda said as he stepped in between Sokka and Airis. "Avatar Airis, I think you better butcher the deer before the flies get to it." Airis nodded. Hakoda continued "The rest of you either get dinner ready or come help me with the boat repairs." Everyone separated in to groups letting everyone mull over their thoughts on what had just happened.

Airis worked silently as she butchered the deer. She didn't give the people looking at her a measly glance. An entire tribe now knew that she was the Avatar. It felt a little creepy. Ever since she had come to this century she had, in total, told only three other people besides herself and they were the benders. Eema an earthbender, Faikai was a firebender, and Watomm; a waterbender she had become real close with, he had actually helped her leave the North Pole, and had actually figured out himself that she was the Avatar. He had wanted to travel the world and she gave him that. But, six months later, all of her friends were dead and buried and when she did bury them she buried her earthbender name; Exia, and she vowed to kill the Fire Lord in the name of her fallen friends. And she had wasted her chance, she had been too soon. Now it was Aang's turn to fight, if he could.

She heard the men gossiping and sighed, going back to the meat. _Who knew men gossiped? _She laughed at her own vain attempt to cheer herself up.

Airis heard footsteps behind her. "Avatar Airis" a gentle voice said behind her. It was Katara.

Airis set down her knife and stood up. "Please just call me Airis, I don't want to be treated any different than when I was Wataki." Airis saw a pot cooking on an open flame. The smell of sea prunes filled the air. Katara had always been good cook.

"Airis…" Katara's eyes fell down to the tan sand. "Are you really an airbender? Are you really on our side? I know I know stupid questions. But I'm just trying to figure everything out. I was so scared when I saw you firebending at those wolves. I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry I made you remember all those painful memories-"

Airis placed a soft hand on Katara' shoulder "calm down, I understand. The thing is, was that I was going to tell you I was the Avatar as soon as I came back to camp. I did end up telling you but, just in a circumstance different than what I expected." Katara nodded slowly. "If you want proof that I'm an airbender, here" Airis stepped back and fire sprang out of palm, it stayed there though, so Katara didn't jump. She brought the flame to her forehead and the fire soon made her forehead black and crusty. For some reason Airis didn't scream in pain or even flinch, though Katara flinched for her.

Airis extinguished the flame and put her hand in front of her face. Soon little particles of earth leapt from her forehead and left in their place a familiar mark. In the center of her forehead Airis had a large sky blue arrow coming out of her hairline. It looked exactly like Aangs.

Katara gasped and Airis smiled. "Only airbending masters where these. Me, like Aang, graduated early and got my arrows sooner than normal. I have to hide them, so the Fire Nation won't suspect me of anything." Airis placed a hand on Katara's arm. "And Katara" Blue eyes searched grey ones for an answer. "I'm on your side no matter what. Sometimes it may not seem like it but, I'm only doing it so the Fire Nation trusts me."

Katara nodded thinking about the near future.

"Hey Katara, If you want I can show you how to give a healing session to Aang and his lightning wounds. I think he might trust you with it more than he'll trust me when he wakes up" Airis said with a light laugh.

Katara looked into the Avatar's eyes. _She has the same eyes as Aang. So full of hope and inner peace and yet somehow worry and pain. I guess all Avatars are like that._

"Okay" was Katara's answer. She needed to build trust with this new Avatar.

Airis nodded "We better get back to our chores."

Katara stared at the Avatar long enough to see her place the weird minerals back on her forehead and cover her arrow. She then waterbended it to her skin, somehow and it looked exactly like a normal forehead. She went back to the deer as if nothing had interrupted her in the first place.

Katara turned away and went back to preparing dinner.

* * *

Everyone seemed to enjoy Katara's sea prunes, even though most of them were chatting about anything and everything. Katara looked at Airis. She had finished her sea prunes and was lying on her back with her arms folded behind her head and was staring at the sky who had just barely turned form dusk to night. Only a few stars were out by now. Katara walked over to the other teen and sat down. 

"Hey"

"Hey"

"Umm Airis…" Katara fumbled with words.

"Yeah?" Airis said not removing her eyes from the darkening sky. Her voice was calm with a little hint of curiosity showing through,

"Do you think you could show me that healing technique now?"

Airis sat up in surprise "Right now? You want me to teach you it right now? You trust me enough to let me help you with Aang?"

Katara nodded, worried at what the older girl would do next. To Katara's surprise tears came to Airis's eyes.

"Thank you Katara you have no idea how happy I am to know that you trust enough to let me help heal Aang." Airis's voice wavered slightly and she smiled. Katara returned the smile and placed an arm around Airis's shoulder.

"C'mon" Katara said getting up. "I'm guessing you have a lot to teach me, but I'm a quick learner."

Airis got up giggling softly "We'll see, we'll see."

* * *

Later that night, Airis found herself once more staring at the night sky, this time it was filled with sparkling stars and the bright gorgeous moon. Her healing lesson with Katara and Aang was really easy. Katara was right she was a quick learner and Airis had been able to show her more advanced healing techniques. Katara was right now fixing up Aang with fresh bandages. Airis was supposed to be in the tent Katara and her still surprisingly shared. Instead Airis chose to relax and mull over her thoughts with the comforting moon over her. She heard footsteps coming toward her. 

She knew who it was; everyone else had gone to bed earlier that night. Though some people (cough Sokka cough) had been reluctant to sleep with such an untrustworthy person still awake. Hakoda had finally managed to persuade Sokka into sleeping and he was sleeping like a rock right now.

She heard footsteps coming towards her.

"Hey Katara" Airis said calmly not even glancing at the waterbender.

"Hey" was the reply. Airis heard Katara lay down in the sand beside her.

"I was wondering Airis" Katara said starting to focus on the millions of diamonds in the night sky.

"Yeah" The Air Nomad turned her head to Katara. "Ask me anything, I'm sick and tired of keeping secrets. They cause too much pain."

Katara nodded "How do you know Aang?"

Airis laughed softly. "Aang and I were like best friends. Well I guess we really didn't have a choice."

"I was born close to Aang, anyway they gave him the Avatar test before me and they said that he was the Avatar. I on the other hand was said to have a spiritual connection with the spirit world deep enough to rival the one of the Avatar. I soon found out that I was also the Avatar with the help of my mom."

"I had mastered air, had gotten my tattoos and was a far in learning about the spirit world when Aang and I turned twelve and we told about our abnormal destinies. Aang was to master the elements and I was supposed to be his special guru once he was ready to master his Avatar spirit. After we got started on our full on training, we were never able to play with other kids. Aang was the only kid I was able to actually be a kid with, since we both had important rolls in the world once we grew up. I remember the day I first met Aang…"

_Flashback_

_It was a warm morning in the Southern Air Temple, her mother, Master Chen, had woken her up early. They were now walking thought the elaborate paths of the Temple._

"_What's the surprise mom?" A 12 year old Airis looked up to her mother. Master Chen was a very beautiful woman and was equally beautiful with her skill in the airbending arts._

_Chen looked down at her daughter and laughed softly. "You'll see"_

_Airis folded her arms across her chest. "Awww, mom!"_

_They made their way to a park on a far corner of the Air Temple. Airis looked at her mother in confusion when she saw an old man with a moustache and a boy her age waiting for them in the calmness of the park._

_As they entered the gentleness of the park the old man spoke up. "Chen, we have been waiting for you. I'm sure your suggestion will do both of our students some good." he had a calm and gentle voice. Different from most of the old men she knew._

_Chen looked at her daughter "Airis this is Monk Gyatso and his student Avatar Aang. Avatar Aang I am Master Chen and this is Guru Airis. Well not guru yet."_

"_Hey" Aang and Airis said at the same time. They bowed at the same time and banged their heads against each others._

"_Ow!" They said as the pulled back both rubbing their sore heads. The two adults laughed at this. _

_The two kids scowled at their masters. "Hey!" They said at the same time again. Then they pointed at each and laughed. Their teachers laughed too._

"_Go on you two go have some fun" Chen said still slightly laughing._

"_REALLY?!" they both said in union. Since their Avatar and Guru training had began, they had never been allowed to play with other kids. This came as a real surprise to the two young people who were destined to save the world._

_Both masters nodded._

_The two kids looked wide-eyed at each other with smiles reaching from ear to ear. "C'mon you want to go play air ball or play with the bison, I have one! Really!? Cool!" Again they said it in union and they laughed hard again before running off to throw fruit pies at the mediating monks. _

_Before she ran off with Aang however she looked back to her mother and Gyatso. They were both exchanging sad expressions and Gyatso placed a hand on her mom's arm. Airis shrugged it off though. She finally had a friend! _

_End Flashback_

Katara laughed at the mention of the two of them throw pies at the respected monks, getting into mischief even when they had been aware of the heavy weight on their shoulders. She couldn't even imagine what a duo Airis and Aang would make either in pranks or fighting. The thing that worried her though was that she would get to see the second one once they entered the Fire Nation. Airis pulled her out of her thoughts as the Avatar stood up and held a hand out to Katara.

"C'mon we have a big day tomorrow. We'd both better get some sleep." Katara nodded in agreement and took Airis's hand and the two girls walked back to the tent and crawled into their warm sleeping bags.

And for the first time in a long time Airis went quickly fell to sleep with no negative thoughts bothering her. _Everything will turn out good _was her last thought before drifting into a calm but dreamless sleep.

AN- I kinda like this chapter but I also don't like it. But, things needed to be said before they entered the Fire Nation. Tell me what you think about it!

Please review.

Reviews are nice things that make chapters come faster :)

Homework and no reviews bad things that make chapters slow down :(

I want 3 reviews before I post the next chapter. That doesn't sound too mean does it?

So review, please:)


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.

AN- I hope everyone likes this chapter. Sorry for the wait. School sucks and homework is waist deep. I'll try and get to the next one quicker.

If I can actually get to the computer this weekend:(

I might not be able to even look at the computer, My mom has plans (shudders). I'll get set on the next one as soon as I can:)

PS- This one gets a little limey. So don't read the ending if you're not umm… let's see about 13.

No lemon (just clarifying).

Chapter 9

Airis woke up at her usual time and was careful not to wake Katara as she left the tent to meditate and practice her bending.

Airis stretched in the cool morning air. She heard a grunt from the side of campsite and looked to see Appa slowly getting up. Airis walked over to him and rubbed his arrow.

"Hey, Appa! Remember me?" She said as she hugged his massive head. She could finally show affection to the bison without anyone getting suspicious.

Appa gave a happy grunt and licked her from head to toe with his gigantic tongue. Airis laughed and waterbended the slobber off of her.

"I missed you too buddy." She scratched his nose. Airis remembered the time she and Aang had completely braided Appa and her own bison, Teke, and presented them to her mother and Gyatso. They had laughed so much that day. She missed those kinds of days.

"See ya later Appa." The bison grunted in response and went back down to the sand.

Airis walked over to the shoreline. She admired the view of the beach with the colourful sun breaking over the horizon. She sat down in the sand listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. She mediated for a while and failed miserably, for an unknown reason.

She left her meditation after several minutes and began to practice her waterbending, then her airbending, going through the most complicated moves she knew. Once she had finished that she moved on to firebending. Making difficult kicks, punches, twists, and performing the most advanced firebending she could think of.

In the middle of her firebending she heard angry grumbling. She stopped her bending and turned around to see a cranky Sokka scowling at her.

"If my firebending is bothering you I could practice something else." She said turning her back to the teenager.

"No! Please continue! Firebending is just fine!" Sokka said in his usual sarcastic tone.

Airis sighed. "I'm sorry that I hurt you Sokka. But I am the Avatar and because I am, I'm also a firebender."

"Humph!"

"Sokka…oh forget it" Airis said knowing her words would be wasted on the warrior. She went back to her firebending. Going faster than she did before and punching the ocean fiercely with her strongest fire balls.

"Hey! I told you not to firebend!" Sokka said walking stiffly to Airis.

Airis created two fire whips and laid them on the surface of the water. "Uh, no you didn't."

Sokka pulled out his club. "You're in a bad position to be mouthing back."

"Excuse me?" Airis stopped her firebending and turned to face Sokka.

"You heard me!" Sokka said thrusting his club at her. She dodged it and ducked to avoid his boomerang.

"Sokka I don't think you're being very smart challenging a fully realized Avatar."

That made Sokka angrier. He blew up and threw attack after attack at her. Airis dodged them with ease, not even using her bending.

She saw an opening stepped aside and tripped Sokka then grabbed his arm and twisted it. She pulled him back to her.

She was taller than the warrior and she used it to her advantage. She whispered in his ear in a slow slightly annoyed voice.

"Now please leave me alone to practice my FIREBENDING so I can teach it to AANG so he can SAVE the world." It sent chills down the warrior's spine and almost made him wet himself and with each word she wanted to make a point with she twisted his wrist more.

"Thank you for listening". Airis threw Sokka to the ground and walked further up the beach.

Sokka couldn't get any words out of his mouth, he was too angry, too scared. In a furry he threw his boomerang at Airis. She turned around and caught it at the last second. She threw Sokka's own boomerang at him and through his clothes he was pinned to the cliff wall. Airis turned around happy with herself and left Sokka struggling to break free of his own boomerang.

* * *

Katara woke up slowly. She realized Airis wasn't in her sleeping bag again. She shrugged it off and left the tent. They had agreed to leave after everyone had breakfast, so it wouldn't be a as grumpy a ride to the abbey. 

As soon as Katara left the tent she saw down the beach Airis practicing her firebending. It was almost like a dance. Katara stared in amazement.

Katara was taken out of her trance when she heard mumbled angry words coming from the cliff wall. It was Sokka and he was being held there by his own boomerang. She had definitely missed something this morning. She walked over to her brother.

"What the heck happened to you?" Katara laughed inside a bit, she bet Airis had something to do with this.

Sokka turned his head away from Katara and mumbled "Airis…stupid firebender…lucky shot...I shoulda won" Katara smirked. She had definitely missed something fun.

Katara laughed and pulled on the boomerang. It was secure in the wall. Only an earthbender could get it out.

_Speaking of earthbenders here comes one now_ Katara thought as she saw Airis walk slowly up to the siblings. An evil, happy smile was spread over her face. Katara shook her head. _What the hell did I miss?_

Airis looked at Sokka then Katara. The grin was still there. "Sokka and I had a…umm argument."

"Yeah right!" Sokka mumbled under his breath.

Airis gave an 'I know you know I'm lying' smile at Katara. "See even Sokka agrees with me."

"Here I'll save Sokka from the evil hold of the boomerang" Airis laughed and earthbended the boomerang out of the wall. She promptly gave it back to Sokka. He grabbed it and walked away.

Katara shook her head and smiled "What the hell happened?"

Airis giggled and looked over to Sokka who was stomping on the sand. "I'll tell you over breakfast." She said draping her arm over Katara's shoulders.

For some reason Katara felt comfortable and relaxed when was with Airis. The same way she felt around Aang.

* * *

"Were all set!" Airis said as she jumped all over Appa and checked the ropes for tightness; now that they had no saddle they had to tie everything around Appa's neck, legs and on his horns. 

Toph earthbended herself on to Appa's back and wound her hands in Appa's thick, white fur.

Katara and Sokka were saying their final goodbyes to there father. Sokka shook everyone's hands and climbed on Appa. Katara hugged her father tightly.

"We will come back and soon this will be all over." Katara said into her father's shirt. Hakoda rubbed his daughters back and they both backed off. "Bye dad" Katara said before she too climbed up Appa's leg and joined Sokka and Toph.

Airis was about to airbend herself up onto Appa's head, to drive, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and looked Hakoda in the eye.

"Yes?" The Avatar asked.

"About what you promised yesterday with your…umm hair."

Airis understood and nodded "Yes"

"You are one of the Avatars; all I ask is that you keep my children safe when you are in the Fire Nation"

Airis smiled and placed one hand on Hakoda's shoulder and the other on her heart. "You have my word as the Avatar and my airbender's honour." She bowed to the chief and he did the same.

Using her airbending she did a back flip and landed on the bison's head.

"Ready everybody?" Airis asked the people behind. She got a "yeah" from Katara as she held Aang's unconscious body, a "ready as I'll ever be" from Toph and a "Humph" from Sokka.

Airis smiled and looked at Appa. "Alright, Appa yip, yip!"

The bison gathered itself and soared into the sky. A chorus of goodbyes and a sea of waves followed their departure.

Katara leaned over to Airis. "Since when do you know how to fly a Sky Bison?"

"Since I was born actually!"

Airis leaned back over Appa's head "Let's go see everybody's favourite Kyoshi warrior!"

Sokka jumped at the mention of Suki. He had almost forgotten about her. He was surprised that Airis even remembered. Maybe she wasn't such a bad person after all. Man, he was going to pay for his change of mind later. He knew Airis, Katara and Toph would make sure of that. _OH CRAP!_ Sokka realized something he was having a road trip with a bunch of girls and the only other guy was unconscious. He folded his arms_ Awww Man!__

* * *

_The fly to the abbey was rather uneventful besides Toph screaming for her life every time Appa hit a bad air current.

Sokka was getting impatient with Airis she said they were supposed to reach the abbey half an hour ago!

Toph pointed forward "There I see the abbey!" The two siblings jerked there heads up while Airis kept her eye on Appa.

"Ha! Funny, Toph!" Airis laughed

Sokka turned to face Toph "Why do you have to do that?"

Toph shrugged "You make it too easy."

Sokka was about to strangle Toph when Airis yelled. "We're here! Prepare for landing!" as she guided Appa smoothly to a clearing in the nearby forest.

The moment Appa touched the ground; Toph jumped off and rubbed herself in the dirt. "How do I keep missing earth so much?" Toph got up and dusted herself off. "Can we PLEASE buy a new saddle?"

Airis jumped off of Appa. "Heck, I can make a quick one. When I lived at the Air Temple I learned everything I could get my hands on. I can make it while Sokka visits Suki."

Toph ran over to Airis and gave her a bone crushing hug. "OH! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!"

Airis managed to get free of Toph's grip. "Alright but first let's go meet Suki."

Katara was still on board Appa. "What about Aang? We can't leave him here alone and if we expose him, the Fire Nation might find out he's alive."

Airis thought for a minute then snapped her fingers. "Do you have a cape?"

Katara nodded.

"Give it to me and hand me down some rope."

Katara did as she was told even though she had no idea what Airis was doing.

"Bring Aang down."

Katara walked down off of Appa's tail; carrying Aang like he was child.

"Give him to me" The Nomad ordered. Katara gave her a weird look but did so.

Airis pushed her hair to the side and put the unconscious boy on her back. She tied his hands around her neck and his legs around her waist. Then she placed her hair over his body like a blanket and put the cape on. She tied the cape tightly around her body, so you could only see her head. Airis looked up and smiled at Katara.

Katara was shocked; Aang had completely disappeared. The only person who could really tell were he was, was Airis who could feel his steady breathing on the back of her neck and the warmth coming off him into her body.

"See, no more Aang! And he's safe and sound." Airis smiled "I learned a couple of other smuggling tips like that in the Fire Nation"

Sokka interrupted. "Okay, okay! Aang is safe and hidden and nobody will notice Airis. Can we please go see Suki?"

The three girls laughed. "Alright lover boy, I guess you can go see your girlfriend" Airis said in a mocking tone.

"Very funny" Sokka said in his usual sarcastic tone and started off toward the abbey.

The girls laughed and followed Sokka.

* * *

They reached the abbey not long after. They paused at the large gate of the abbey. Sokka took a shuddering breath. He was scared silly seeing Suki. 

Airis sensed this and placed a hand on the young warrior's shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. She misses you as much as you miss her."

Sokka shrugged her hand off his shoulder. "How do you know that?!"

Airis gave him a look that said 'Well duh!'

"Oh yeah, your mind powers. Thanks that makes me feel so much better!" He said he voice soaked in sarcasm. He took a deep breath and knocked on the heavy door.

A few moments later the giant door swung open and revealed three old women staring at the group.

"Hello welcome to our abbey" said the oldest looking one with the most wrinkles. "What brings you to here?"

Nobody said anything. Airis groaned and pushed Sokka ahead and gave him a 'Go on!' look.

Sokka cleared his throat.

"Out with it boy!" said the one with the piles of beads on her neck.

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck "Umm…well you see, we're actually here to see someone. We got from a source that a Kyoshi warrior named Suki, found refuge at this abbey. We were hoping to find her before we left for a long journey."

Eyebrows jerked up on all of the three women in surprise. They huddled and the Gaang heard the word "Suki" said often.

The three women left the huddle and nodded to Sokka. One of the women left.

The eldest walked up "Sister Gijing has gone to find the warrior. Who are you anyway?"

"My name is Sokka of the Water Tribe, this is my sister Katara" Katara stepped forward and bowed. "This is Toph"

Toph waved "Hiya"

"And this is…" Sokka said pointing to Airis. Crap! They hadn't made a cover name for Airis!

Airis panicked. Usually she was so quick with problems like this!

"Exia!" Toph finished grabbing Airis's arm.

_Noooo! Toph! _Airis screamed inside her head. _There was only one Exia!_

Toph realized she had screwed up, big time. She flinched._ Sorry!_

The old ladies jumped back. "Exia! The whole Earth Kingdom thought you were dead!"

The entire abbey turned to face Airis and gapped like a bunch of penguin fish at her. _Here we go again. Let's rise from the dead never again okay!_

Airis smiled but in her mind she was kicking Toph and slapping herself for not thinking up a name quicker. "Yes, I managed to get out alive and I have wandering the Earth Kingdom ever since."

The two old ladies bowed. "It is an honour to have you in our abbey, war hero Exia. You are welcome anytime here."

Airis bowed "Thank you" _This is going to be so much fun!_ She thought cringing at her own sarcasm. She looked to the side and already saw some young sisters whispering and pointing at her.

The old lady that had left returned with a young woman dressed in the abbey's uniform. _Thank you spirits! This may take some of the attention off me._ She sighed_ that must be Suki. Wow she looks so beautiful. She and Sokka make such a cute couple._

Suki had had her eyes on the ground as she followed the sister. When she looked up, every part of her body smiled.

"Sokka!" She ran past the elders and jumped into Sokka's embrace and began to cry.

"Suki what happened?" Sokka asked

She cried harder into his shoulder. "Sokka, oh Sokka. It was terrible. They were terrible!" she looked up at her boyfriend with trembling lips and a tear stained face and went back to crying into his chest.

"Shhh it's going to be okay. I'm here." He stoked her back. He had no idea what she had been through. Sokka had tears begging to fall. He wouldn't let them; he had to be strong, for Suki.

Airis saw some words that needed to be said. "Elders, do have a place where these two can be alone? They have much to talk about"

"Of course" said the eldest. "Follow me to Suki's room." Sokka picked up Suki bridal style and mouthed "Thank You" to Airis.

"No problem" she mouthed back.

Airis turned to the two remaining sisters. "Forgive me but I must leave. I have some work to do before we set off on our journey."

"Of course" Airis and the two sisters bowed. "Safe travels, Exia. You will bring the world hope once again" The women left.

Turned around and gave Katara and Toph a huge, obviously fake smile. "That's what I was afraid of." Airis muttered through her clenched teeth.

The creepy Joo Dee smile left and Airis asked "So you guys want to hang around here or do you want to come back to Appa with me?"

"Appa" both girls said as they looked around the boring abbey. There was nothing to do here unless you wanted to make chi potions. (AN-I know in Bato of the Water Tribe they made perfumes but this is a different abbey and so they make chi potions)

Airis adjusted her cloak and the three girls left the abbey, Sokka, and Suki.

* * *

Sokka followed the old woman to a simple room with a small bed, a closet, a desk for writing and a window that looked out into the forest. 

Suki pulled herself out of Sokka's grasp and sat down on the bed. The old woman nodded at Suki and looked at Sokka.

"No funny stuff Mr. Water Tribe." He tone was harsh and he knew she meant it.

_Funny stuff? What the-Ohh! _He thought _No, not now; she's been through too much. _

The woman left the two teenagers. Sokka walked over to Suki and sat beside her.

"Sokka I'm so sorry!" Suki grabbed his shirt and leaned into him.

Sokka wrapped an arm around her and lifted her chin to look into her eyes, her beautiful grey eyes. "It's not your fault"

"Sokka, there were three of them at first, a girl with black hair and flying knives, a girl in pink with a long ponytail and a girl with blue fire."

_Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula!! I'm gonna kill those fucking bitches! They'll burn in hell for all eternity. I'll make sure of that! _Sokka thought, tightening his arms around Suki.

Suki sensed her boyfriend's anger and skipped a part that would kill him if she said it. "When they thought we were all dead they stole three of our uniforms, including mine, they stole everything from our fans to our underwear."

Sokka pulled Suki closer to him and rested his chin on the crown of her head rubbing her back slowly. Suki hugged him back.

"After they left, I managed to stand and walk even with all my wounds." Suki felt Sokka's hand stop rubbing and grab onto her clothes. "I walked aimlessly for days until I found this abbey. They took care of me and now I'm almost fully recovered." Suki looked up at Sokka and gave him a forced smile.

"Oh, Suki" he said as he put his forehead against hers.

"You know something Sokka? I don't think I would have made it out of those woods alive if it hadn't been for one thing."

"What's that?" He said as he lifted her chin up. His blue eyes searched her grey ones for and answer.

Suki wrapped her arms around Sokka's neck and leaned into him until their lips were almost touching.

"The only thing that pushed me to live was you Sokka. I knew you were out there somewhere and that you loved me as much as I love you."

"Suki" Sokka said before closing the final distance between him and Suki. Her lips were so soft against his hard lips. He moved his lips gently against hers at first. Then Sokka nibbled and sucked on her bottom lip asking for permission. Suki gave it to him willingly. His tongue swept over her mouth; tasting as much of her as he could. He wrapped his arms tighter around Suki and Suki did the same to him.

Sokka picked Suki up and pressed her against the wall. Suki's hands went to his hair; playing with his ponytail.

Sokka's mouth left hers and travelled up her jawbone leaving a trail of butterfly kisses.

Suddenly Suki saw a flash of a Fire Nation soldier and he was doing what Sokka was doing to her. Suki froze, but it soon turned back to Sokka. She relaxed and enjoyed what he was doing to her.

He continued down her neck and sucked on her pulse point. Suki moaned in his ear. Gods he had missed her!

His hand went to her stomach caressing the soft, flat surface through her dress. The other went to her leg and lifted it to his waist; drawing her closer to him.

Another flash.

Sokka found her mouth again and kissed her hungrily. There tongues dueled, as one of Sokka's hands went up to massage one of her breasts. Suki froze but Sokka reassured her by kissing her harder and rubbing his thumb over her clothed nipple. Suki moaned into his mouth and her hands moved more roughly in his hair.

Another flash.

It disappeared as soon as the other ones. Suki went back to Sokka. She felt his other hand splayed across her stomach and slowly it headed south.

Another flash.

Suki couldn't take this anymore and tears fell from her eyes. Sokka stopped immediately and backed off. "Suki, what's wrong?" he said using his thumb to wipe away some of her tears.

Suki looked into his eyes. They were filled with concern and worry.

"Did I hurt you?" he said "I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her and she cried again into his shirt.

Suki moved out of Sokka's hold and looked into his eyes. "No, Sokka you didn't hurt me." She turned away from him. "Sokka, I'm not pure anymore."

Sokka walked up to Suki "What do you mean?" His voice was full of concern.

"I WAS RAPED YOU IDIOT!!" Suki screamed at Sokka. "THE THREE GIRLS HAD FUCKING SOLDIERS WITH THEM!!!! THEY RAPED ME AND ALL THE OTHERS, DEAD OR ALIVE!!!!"

Sokka didn't move. All that came out of his mouth were little "erk" sounds.

Suki fell to her knees and cried into her hands. "Sokka I didn't mean to yell at you" She sobbed.

Sokka found his voice. "I'LL KILL THOSE FUCKING BASTARDS!!!" Sokka yelled at the top of his voice and then fell to his knees too and hugged his girlfriend. "I should have been there with you. I shouldn't have let you leave alone. I promise I will never let anything hurt you again. I love you, Suki"

She whispered into his ear. "You still love me even though I'm not pure anymore?"

Sokka pulled back from Suki picked up her hand and looked her lovingly in the eyes. "Suki I will love you no matter what and that's a promise." He said as he kissed the tips of her fingers.

Suki looked up at her boyfriend. "Sokka, I love you too." She said as she wrapped her arms and his neck and kissed him as if there was no tomorrow.

_I will never let her go _Sokka thought before deepening the kiss.

AN- My first limey scene! I hope its okay.

Sorry for Suki's OOCness.

I love all reviews! So please review. Just one review, maybe two?

I will be very happy! PLEASE! (Puts on a puppy-dog face)

PWEASE!


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own ATLA

AN- Sorry for the wait, I had a bit of trouble with this chap, but here it is:)

I'd like to thank nutshak and G.N. for their great reviews. Thanks Guys:)

Chapter 10

The three girls made there way to the clearing were they had left Appa

Katara had been walking behind Airis and Toph and was sick of mulling over her question and wanted to find out for real.

Katara walked up beside Airis. "Okay, can some one please tell me who the hell Exia and the benders are so famous?"

Toph smirked "Everyone's heard of the benders! The only way you could possibly not know about them is if you were living in an iceberg three years ago!"

Katara put her hands on her hips "Ahemm!"

Toph's eyes widened "That's right! My bad!"

Katara turned her head away from Toph to look at Airis who was actually giving her an answer.

"The benders were a skilled group of well…benders that traveled all over the Earth Kingdom trying to get rid of the Fire Nation, colonies and all." Airis said not looking at Katara and keeping her voice emotionless. "There were four of us. Me and Eema were both earthbenders; she was my earthbending teacher. She was a lot like Toph actually. Watomm was a waterbender from the North Pole; he was Master Pakku's grandson. Which is one of the many reasons Pakku hates my guts and Faikai was a firebender he was a very shy, sweet guy, like a little brother only older. He was an orphan from the colonies."

"The four of us travelled the Earth Kingdom on ostrich-horse back, fighting whole armies. Trying to show people that we were so strong because we accepted the diversity and differences that separated our Nations and we worked together so well because we ignored our nationality and focused our own different, special abilities as one people" Airis was now using her hands to emphasize her words.

Toph butted in "Before those four, the Fire Nation had the north-eastern Earth Kingdom all the way to Ba Sing Se. Now they only have the tip of the Eastern Earth Kingdom thanks to them!"

Airis nodded and then looked down at her feet. "Yeah, but at our last battle for the rest of the Earth Kingdom…things didn't go as planned. Watomm was hit by a massive fireball thrown by the General of the Army and was instantly killed. Eema stopped fighting and went over to Watomm's body; they had been in love since the moment I introduced them to each other. Eema being vulnerable was hit by a spear and died over Watomm's body and it was just me and Faikai. We were back to back surrounded by soldiers. We managed to fend them off for a while. But…"

Airis stopped in her tracks. Toph and Katara stopped too.

Airis sighed "I'm good at planning attacks with the odds piled against us but that time it was too much for me. Before I knew it Faikai was falling; he had been hit in the throat with a fireball. All my friends were now dead. I panicked, I used my earthbending to run away and bring the bodies of my friends someplace peaceful to bury them. That's when I left for them Fire Nation."

Katara looked at Airis in shock. "You four did all that?" She couldn't imagine how. It amazed her. What could she, Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Airis could do if they even matched the benders.

"Yeah, I guess we did." Airis said laughing a bit then she looked down at her feet in a sad way.

"How do know Toph?" she asked softly trying to get Airis' mind off of her dead friends.

Airis laughed and Katara smiled. Her plan had worked.

"As you guys may already know saving the world doesn't pay very well. We had stopped in Gaoling for an earthbending tournament that Eema and I were to enter and win some money off of."

"Before that however we were invited to the Bei Feong mansion for dinner, that's were I met Toph, though I can remember you hating us to the core the moment you "saw" us." Airis said as she gently elbowed Toph in the ribs. Toph returned it harder but Airis didn't flinch.

"You were suspicious world travelers; you could have been thieves for all I knew." Toph shrugged.

Airis rolled her eyes "Anyway! I soon figured out that Toph was an earthbender who was not allowed to fully express her gift because of her blindness. I managed to talk to Toph and give some hints about blind earthbending. That's how we met, though it was a lot, A LOT more complicated than that."

Katara nodded "How do you know about blind earthbending?"She asked.

Airis looked at Katara then Toph. "Well everyone's heard of mink-snakes and a lot of people have been bitten by them."

Katara nodded remember Sokka's first time with a mink-snake. His hand had been swollen for a week.

"Well turns out some of them have venom that causes blindness for a couple of days. I got bit by one of 'em and I was blind for a week. Eema didn't let up on my training though but, I soon learned that I could earthbend better when I couldn't see."

The group of girls continued towards Appa. They soon reached him and Airis took off her cape, untied Aang and set him peacefully down on one of Appa's legs and covered him with the cape.

"What do we do while Sokka's away with Suki?" Katara asked.

Toph sat down on another one of the furry beasts legs. "Nothing?"

Katara gave Toph a scolding face even though she knew Toph couldn't see it.

Airis straitened her back and cracked her knuckles. "You guys can do that, I got me a saddle to build" Airis said as she walked into the forest to get started.

"I guess I could get dinner started" Katara said digging into one of the bags tied to Appa.

Toph sighed "I'm gonna go see if Crazy needs some help, see ya!" Toph said following Airis trail. Toph hated kitchen duty.

Katara scavenged around camp for small twigs to start a fire and made a fire pit. She got out a piece of the elk-deer and shoved it on a spit. Katara pulled out her bending water and practiced some of her more tricky moves, as she watched the slab of meat roast.

_Yay me! I get to turn a stick with meat on it while my brother is probably making-out with his girlfrieng. _She thought out of boredom.

_I wonder where this pit stop Airis told us about is. It must be pretty safe for us to be able to stay there for three days._

After about an hour Toph and Airis returned with two pretty big trees using their earthbending they made it look like it weighed nothing. Airis put down hers to measure Appa's back and soon the two earthbenders with the help of Katara had a beautiful new temporary saddle for Appa.

Airis airbended the saddle onto Appa's back. It fit perfectly and it was secure. The girls spent the rest of the evening keeping the meat warm, checking up on Aang, and moving luggage that was tied to Appa, into the saddle.

The sun had set and the stars were up and shining when Sokka finally showed up. They had been swapping stupid and embarrassing stories for a long while before Airis and Toph sensed his presence.

Sokka soon appeared from the forest brush.

Katara ran up and hugged her brother. He seemed unusually sad for someone who had just seen his girlfriend.

Airis, who had her mind powers to help her understand Sokka, walked up to him and patted his back gently and said softly "Hey, man"

Sokka knew she knew about Suki. He looked at her "Thanks"

Airis gave a small smile to the sad warrior. "No problem"

Katara looked at her brother, she knew something was wrong. "You want some food?" She said as she turned to the meat on the fire.

Sokka shook his head "No thanks I'm not hungry" he said looking away from his sister.

Katara whipped around "You're not hungry! Okay, now I KNOW something is wrong!"

Sokka just looked away.

Airis walked up to the warrior. "Sokka you gotta eat."

He kept his gaze away from Airis. Airis thought for a second, and then gently placed her hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"How about this you eat here with us so we know you have some food in your gut and then you can go and spend the night with Suki. Huh? How does that sound?"

Sokka looked up at the Avatar. "Really? Is that okay with you guys?" He said looking at everyone. The Katara and Airis nodded, Toph just shrugged.

Sokka went over it in his head. "Okay, thanks guys"

Airis laughed "C'mon" she said leading the sad, unusual Sokka to the dinner circle where Toph was sitting.

Katara handed each of them a slab a meat and they sat down. The only sound was the crackling fire and the sound of the group of four eating quietly except for Toph who was wolfing down her food, despite her formal upbringing.

Katara looked at the Avatar, then Sokka who were both eating their food slowly. Airis met Sokka gaze and they held it there a minute before they went back to there food.

Katara put down her food. This was it! She was sick of Sokka and Airis keeping secrets. She was just plain sick of secrets!

"Sokka what happened with you and Suki at the abbey!" Katara said getting up.

Sokka looked away again "I don't want to talk about it"

Katara was infuriated but before she could say anything Airis spoke up in her calm, peace-keeping voice.

"Katara calm down, Sokka's been through a lot today and I don't think he's taking it well. Frankly I don't think any of us would if were told what he has told by Suki."

"What was he told? That's what I want to know!" Katara said her voice rising without her noticing.

Airis stood up "There is no reason to shout!" Katara calmed down. Airis turned to Sokka. "If you want I can tell them after gone and that will be the last of it."

Sokka just looked down at his meat and nodded.

Airis looked back to Katara "Okay?"

"Fine" the waterbender said to the Avatar.

Sokka soon finished his meat and said goodbye to everyone before leaving for the abbey. Katara had gotten out her sleeping bag, Aang was tucked in close to Appa with Momo on his head, Toph had her earth tent up and Airis had her hair layed out in a weird way so it acted like a cushion.

Katara sat up in her sleeping bag and looked over to Airis who was staring at the stars.

"So…" Katara pushed.

All she got from Airis was an "Ahmm"

Katara continued "What's up with Suki and Sokka"

Airis sighed. "Three words"

Toph turned around in her tent so she could hear her better.

"Suki…was…raped"

Katara jumped back and Toph jolted a bit.

Katara looked down sadly "So that's why… he was acting so weird"

Airis nodded and turned over on her stomach and propped her head up on her hands. "He really does love her doesn't he?"

Katara was a bit embarrassed to admit her brother's love for a girl. "Yeah I guess he does."

Airis smiled "Good for him, everybody needs somebody."

Katara smiled but then got an evil thought in her head and a sneaky grin took over the happy smile. "I bet you still have the hots for that firebender you met in the Fire Nation."

Airis eyes widened and she blushed instantly "What! … No… I mean… Arggh!" she stammered throwing herself into her hair.

Katara laughed and Toph poked her head out of her tent.

"Really? Firebender?" The earthbender smirked "Do tell!" she said rubbing her hands together.

"It was three years ago! It's over now!" she said pleading to Katara.

Katara didn't give in. "But you still really like him" She pressured.

"Yes!" Airis said throwing a twig at Katara. Katara began to giggle at Airis.

Then Airis got an evil idea in her head "I bet you anything that you have your eye on someone right now don't you, miss Katara" Airis said batting her eyelashes.

Katara's eyes widened and red crawled over her cheeks. "Well I don't know" she said looking around camp, her gaze hesitated for the smallest moment on Aang then zoomed back to Airis.

Airis noticed this small hesitation and smiled inside her head. _Interesting! I could guess I could play matchmaker. This could be fun! Go Me! _

"Maybe" she said playing with her braid and blushing more.

"I knew it!" Toph said jumping out of her tent smiling from ear to ear. Airis just smiled knowingly, her eyes sparkling with the wrong ideas (well Katara thought they were the wrong ideas).

Katara scowled at the girls and pulled herself into her sleeping bag.

"Go to bed and hopefully sleep will wash away your pervy minds!" Katara said covering her head with her pillow.

Toph and Airis buckled over in laughter. Katara groaned into her sleeping bag. She'd never hear the end of this one.

* * *

Once Katara was asleep, Toph walked over to Airis who was still awake and pondering over the heavens. 

Toph stared into nothingness as she whispered to Airis. "You feel it too, Crazy? What's going on between Sugar Queen and Twinkle Toes?"

Airis looked up at the earthbender and smirked. "If by Sugar Queen you mean Katara and by Twinkle toes you mean Aang. Then, yes, I hear it loud and clear."

Airis and Toph both muffled their laughter. "Yeah" Toph said "Anyway, good night. Just wanted to see if you were as blind as those three." She said walking back to her tent.

Airis cocked her head "Those three?"

"Yeah. Sugar Queen, Twinkle Toes, and Snoozles."

"Snoozles is Sokka?" Airis guessed.

"Yep"

Airis shook her head "Do you give everybody names?"

"Yep" Toph said closing her earth tent.

Airis laughed softly and layed back down in her hair. She was glad to be part of a family again.

* * *

Airis was up at her usual time, she had finished her bending and was poking at the embers in the pile of ash that was once a fire with a stick. 

Toph was second to get up, a record for her. The two benders exchanged "good mornings". Toph ate her small breakfast, of oats and fruit, and went over to play with Momo.

Airis sat up from the ground and dusted off her ripped and dirty Water Tribe clothes. "We gotta hit the air soon if were going to make it to the pit stop before dark, I'm gonna go get Sokka. You can start packing slowly if you want." Airis said walking away from the campsite.

Toph gave her a half hearted wave "'Kay" The earthbender said in a non-caring tone.

Airis shook her head and laughed quietly.

"Hey! I felt that!" Toph said standing up.

Airis shook her head again and walked towards the abbey.

It didn't take to long getting there, and getting in was even easier. Getting away from the swarm of young sisters who bombarded her with questions about the benders and how she survived, now that was the hard part.

"Where have you been? Was Watomm as cute as they say? Was Faikai really a firebender? What happened to you in the battle?" were among the many questions that attacked her.

Airis pushed them away slightly, trying to keep the eager girls at arms length. _I thought only guys had this problem! _She thought as more gathered around her.

"Excuse me" she said calmly at first but the girls went on swarming her like buzzard wasps.

Airis closed her eyes and rubbed her temples "EXCUSE ME!!!"

The entire courtyard yard went silent. Airis bowed "Thank you" she said as she walked through the crowd and to an elder. "Forgive me elder but I'm looking for Sokka, he stayed here last night." As she said this the sisters that had swarmed her left sadly back to there chores.

The old woman thought for a minute then she rolled her eyes "Yes, him" She said with particular disgust.

Airis flinched at the remark._ Sokka, what the hell did you do!_

"Let me get someone to help you find S-S-Sokka." Again she said his name like it was poison.

Airis shook her head "No need." She knew Sokka had bothered the abbey enough already. "I'll use my bending" Airis said kneeling on the ground and placing her hand on the cool floor for the warrior's familiar vibrations.

The sisters looked down at her in awe.

"Found him!" She said cheerfully, standing up.

The elder nodded "At least you have some decency, young one" She said as she walked away.

Airis turned her back to the elder and towards the direction she had felt Sokka. A smile crept over her face and she shook her head. _You little perv no wonder everyone here hates you._

She walked down the stone halls. She smiled, all other thoughts leaving her head; they reminded her so much of the Air Temples. Airis came out of her thoughts as she reached Suki's door.

She gripped the door handle and leaned into the door to hear if she was interrupting anything.

Only faint snoring.

Airis took a deep breath and knocked on the door first softly and then when no answer came harder.

Nothing.

_Damn it! _She cursed in her head. _Why me?! _She thought as she slowly opened the door. It creaked terribly and she flinched. Nothing stirred. Airis let out a sigh of relief.

She continued to open the door. It revealed a small room, nothing unusual about it. The thing that made Airis pause and caused her eyes to open wide was the blue and white clothes scattered and thrown all over the room and as a bonus the strong smell of sex. Airis held her breath as she picked her way through the piles of clothes and saw on the bed a very naked Sokka with his arm wrapped around a very naked Suki. He had his hair out of his warrior wolf tail and Suki's was a complete mess. The blanket was up to their waists and Airis thanked the spirits for that. She did not need anymore disturbing pictures in her head, even though the both looked so calm and happy sleeping together.

To bad this peaceful, oh-so-happy picture was almost making Airis loose her breakfast.

Airis held her breath and whispered "Sokka, wake up! Sokka!"

The only reaction was his arm tightening around Suki and Suki snuggling in closer to him.

Airis looked around the room for something to throw at him. She picked up a couple of beads and threw them at him. Nothing happened.

_OH! I fucking hate you so much right now, Sokka! _Airis yelled inside her head as she walked over to the bed.

_Fuck, oh fuck! Oh fuck! OH FUCK! _She screamed in her head as she slowly brought her hand to Sokka's mouth to make sure he didn't scream to loud when he woke up.

As soon as her palm touched his mouth to keep him quiet, his eyes shot open and he screamed. Her plan had back fired. Airis jumped back. Suki woke up and screamed too and fell out of the bed. Sokka fell out of the bed too as he scrambled to find something to cover himself. He settled for a pillow and Suki grabbed a blanket.

"What the hell are you doing here!!??" Sokka yelled pointing at Airis, which made him drop the pillow and leave himself in the buff in front of Airis again.

"I came here to get you" she said as he scrambled for the pillow again blushing ten different reds.

"Though after last night, I'm guessing neither of you want to leave?" The Avatar said crossing her arms.

Sokka and Suki both blushed even harder.

Airis turned her back on the two lovers. "I'll give you some time to get dressed, I be waiting outside so don't even think about going for another round." She said closing the wooden door.

Sokka and Suki were out in five minutes. They found Airis leaning against the wall outside the room, and picking her nails with boredom.

"Why the hell did you do that?! You could've knocked" Sokka said getting angrier.

Airis looked at him with a 'well duh!' look on her face. "I did"

"Ohh… well than you could've said my name or something"

"I did"

"You could've thrown something at us." Suki said joining in.

"I did" her voice almost as bland as Mai's.

Sokka was embarrassed but wasn't about to give up the argument. "Why didn't Katara come and get me instead of you?"

Airis stared him in the eye. "You're kidding right?"

Sokka opened his mouth to object. But damn it, she was right it would have been a hell of a lot worse if Katara had found him with Suki.

"Well what about-"

Airis smirked "Please! Toph's wake up call would have been to earthbend you into the next week."

Sokka put up a finger to object but he had lost. Suki put an arm around her boyfriends shoulder.

"C'mon, we gotta get back to camp we have to leave soon." Airis said putting an arm around Sokka's other shoulder.

"Suki, you coming to say good bye?" Airis asked the Kyoshi warrior.

"Okay" The Kyoshi warrior said sadly.

The three left the hall to be met by some harsh stares from the elder sisters. Airis thanked them quickly and pushed the couple out of the gate.

"What's up with those ladies?" Sokka asked Airis.

Airis laughed "My best guess is that they heard your little adventure last night."

"Ohh!" Sokka and Suki said at the same time, both blushing deeply.

When they reached camp, they found all the supplies in the saddle waiting to be airbended on to Appa's back and Katara and Toph waiting impatiently for the group.

"Finally!" Toph said getting up off the ground.

Katara walked up to Airis and Sokka. "What in La's name took you so long?" Katara looked at the group harder and saw Suki holding on to Sokka's arm. Katara opened her arms wide and gave Suki a hug.

"Hey, Suki"

"Hey Katara" the girl returned the hug.

Katara had let her mind wander, so she whipped back to Sokka and Airis. "So?"

Airis rubbed the back of her neck "I ran into some complications getting these two love birds to wake up" Airis said jabbing her thumb towards the blushing couple.

Katara didn't get it at first, but then put two and two together. "Oh! Okay" She said awkwardly.

There was an awkward silence until Toph clapped her hands. "Alright the sooner we leave, the sooner we hit solid ground."

Airis nodded "Toph's right I better get the saddle onto Appa." She said walking over to the fully loaded saddle.

"We have a saddle again?" Sokka asked

Toph slapped his back "Yep!"

Airis manoeuvred the saddle, with her airbending, onto the bison and made sure it was tight on his back.

Airis jumped onto Appa's head and grabbed the reins. "Alright let's go!"

Katara and Toph clambered onto Appa. Toph grabbed the edge of the saddle and Katara held Aang, who was starting to get a little hair out of his head, comfortably in a spot close to Airis.

Sokka was still on the ground standing next to Suki.

"Where are you going?" Suki asked.

"To the Fire Nation were going find Aang a firebending master. We're gonna meet up with my dad at the North Pole after Aang's training and then will invade the Fire Nat-"

Suki kissed her boyfriend to make him shut up. Sokka tensed at first then relaxed into the gentle kiss. Suki pulled away and ruffled his ponytail.

"You talk too much" she said

"Hey! That's my line!"

Suki laughed and hugged Sokka. "I'm going to miss you." She said as looked up into her warrior's deep blue eyes. "Promise me, you'll come back to me"

Sokka took her hand and kissed her knuckles "I promise"

Suki hugged him as if she would never let him go. "Bye, Sokka" she whispered in his ear.

"Bye, Suki" Sokka said breaking the hug and backing away slowly toward Appa.

"Go on, the world needs you" Suki said with tears threatening to fall.

Sokka smiled and climbed into the saddle.

"Yip, Yip" Airis said from the drivers place.

Appa took off and caught onto an air current, helping him to stabilize.

Sokka and Suki kept eye contact for as long as they could, but then Appa flew through a cloud. The two lovers turned away from each other. Saddened by their separation but comforted by the fact that they would see each other again someday.

AN- The ending is so mushy!! What is wrong with me?! My brain is not working! (hits head a few times) There I think I fixed it :)

Tell me what you think about it. Please excuse the mushiness.

Please Review- Everyone knows you just can't wait to press the button and review. EVERYONE. Mwwaahahaha. I'm evil.

Please review


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

AN- hey everybody :D

Its a snow day here, so no school!! Yay!!(Thank you snow, I love you!!) So I can post this new chap! Double Yay!!

For those who want more Kataang, I will be slowly entering it in the next couple of chapters. Thnx jliljj for the idea.

Anyway here's the next chap, hope you like it :)

Chapter 11

The air was cool and refreshing on board the bison. The wind blew gently through everyone's hair, almost trying to comfort the group.

Sokka chose to ignore it and sink away into his inner world to sulk.

Katara looked away from her sad brother and focused on Aang who was lying in her lap; his sprouting hair was prickly against Katara's tattered blue robes. Would they ever be like Sokka and Suki? She thought in her own mind. Through their travels together Katara had developed a strong crush on the optimistic, joyful kid who was always looking for fun. She wasn't sure exactly what she felt, but it confused her in ways she could never understand.

The young waterbender sighed. All she could do now was to look positively toward the future and do as much as they could to help Aang restore balance to this upside down world.

A knowing smile crawled up on Airis' lips. She had heard every thought. _This going to fun! _She thought _I wonder if Toph will help me play Cupid! _She chuckled evilly inside her head.

Airis hid her smile from the others and focused on driving Appa.

Once she had found their main course Airis layed down on Appa's head with her feet propped up against the new saddle. Sokka had dozed off and was snoring slightly, whispering inaudible words, and drooling. Toph was holding own to the railing of the saddle and was smiling comfortably; she really loved the new saddle. The lemur was curled up on Airis' stomach rising and sinking with her slow steady breathes, she pet the lemur's back and the creature purred in contentment.

Airis looked at Katara last. Katara was off in her own world and was starring at Aang's head. She looked at Katara for awhile.

Katara pulled herself out of her aimless thoughts when she felt a creepy feeling on the back of her neck, the one that you get when you know someone is looking at you. She looked around and her gaze landed on Airis who was giving Katara a small smile and petting Momo.

"Hey" said the Nomad, coolly.

"Hey." Katara replied.

Katara looked down at the female Avatar. Airis was the perfect image of relaxation all she needed was a piece of hay to chew on and it would seem as though she didn't have a care in the world.

_She looks a lot like Aang when she does that. _Katara noted.

Katara put a gentle hand on Aang's bandaged covered chest and looked at the other Avatar.

"So?" Katara said moving her head from side to side.

Airis raised an eyebrow and cocked her head toward Katara.

"What and where exactly is this 'pit stop'?"

Airis smiled. "It's an island I stumbled upon three years ago and it became my home. I found it somewhere between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. It's pretty big. I was amazed to find that no one knew about it. I built a temple there to make it a home. So basically it's a big island with an Air Temple on it."

Katara nodded picturing the island Airis called home. "So, it's a pretty safe place"

Airis laughed and pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. "You got that right! The entire island is surrounded by jagged rocks making it almost impossible for boats to reach it and nobody goes near that place anyway because there are sudden storms all the time. The only safe place in that area is the island. It actually has pretty nice weather all year round."

Toph jumped into their conversation "What are Air Temples made of?" she asked wondering how well she'd see in the Temple.

Katara and Airis looked to see Toph 'staring' out to the sea waiting for an answer.

"You're in luck" Airis said petting Momo "It's completely made of stone."

Toph punched the air "Yes!"

Airis smirked and looked back to Katara "And I have trunks full of a bunch of Fire Nation clothes so you guys will be all set."

Katara gave a small nod and looked down at Aang again. Airis traveled into her thoughts.

The Avatar gazed up at the waterbender "He should be awake in ten days, give or take."

Katara nodded as Airis turned around placed Momo on one of Appa's horns and grabbed the reins. The bison had started to lower and head in the wrong direction.

Katara was amazed by the fact that Airis could understand her thoughts with such ease but what she could never understand is the ache in her heart she got every time she looked at Aang's unconscious body. No one could.

* * *

After what seemed like hours they were still flying and constantly being reminded by Airis that they would be there soon. Sokka and Toph had been fighting every time they were both awake and it always took a long time for the Avatar and waterbender to relax the two cranky teenagers. Well, Toph was almost a teenager. 

Katara fell asleep after countless fights and make ups. Soon, though Katara forced her tired eyes open and looked around, Airis was still driving and Toph and Sokka were both looking angrily in the direction opposite to the other. Katara shook her head and looked behind them. Her eyes widened in fear.

She saw massive storm clouds rolling in like a stampede ostrich-horses. _The sudden storms! _An alarm went off in Katara's head.

"Umm, Airis, I think we got some weather problems"

Airis looked over her shoulder "Ooh, this is going to be fun, hold on tight and we should be at the island before the storms reaches us!" Airis said grabbing the reins tightly and manoeuvring Appa skilfully. "Let's race!"

_What the hell is up with this girl? She's crazier then Aang! _Katara thought as she tightened her grip on Aang.

"What the hell is going on? Why are we going so fast?" Toph yelled as she clung on to the railing.

The winds started to pick up and whistling was all the team heard. Everyone kept their head low and prayed that it would soon be over. Airis on the other hand was having the time of her life she was smiling from ear to ear and laughing her heart out.

_What the hell is wrong with her? One minute she as steady as a rock and the peace keeper of the world and the next it's like she just escaped from the nut house! _Katara thought as she held on for her life.

"Look there's the island!" Airis yelled over the howling winds, pointing to a heavy fog in front of them.

Katara and Sokka stood up and looked at the mass of grey.

"There's nothing there" Sokka yelled, pointing out the obvious.

"It's behind the fog, smart guy!" Airis yelled back, standing up on Appa's head.

_What the hell is wrong with her she's gonna kill herself! _Katara eyes widened in fear for the airbender.

"You guys are going to love it here!" Airis said getting into a waterbending stance. Airis bended away the thick fog and created a clear tunnel through the fog to the island. She sat back down and grabbed the thick reins. "Hang on tight! This is gonna be a bumpy ride!"

_Isn't it already as bumpy as it can possibly get! _Katara screamed in her head knowing her words would be lost in the wind.

Katara was wrong! Oh how wrong. It probably doubled in roughness. She had no idea how Airis was able to control the bison under the conditions. Appa was moving up and down so fast, Katara thought she was gonna fall off if it continued any longer.

As they came to the other end of the tunnel everything calmed down. The storm had completely stopped.

Katara lifted her head to see that the storm had disappeared and they were flying over a thick forest of tall evergreens.

"What the hell happened?" Sokka wondered out loud rubbing his head.

Toph hit him "We just escaped the storm numb-nuts"

Sokka was about to hit Toph. When they heard a large grunt; it wasn't Appa's.

Everyone turned in the direction of the grunt.

Airis smacked her forehead "Oh! I forgot to mention one thing-"

Another lighter grunt interrupted Airis and Appa responded.

Suddenly flying beside Appa was them was a large flying bison and her calf!

Everyone's eyes widened in shock and mouths were gapped. Another heavy grunt came from the other side of Appa. It was another bison! Soon they were surrounded by a large herd of flying bison.

"What the…How did you…?" Katara had an impossible time finding the right question for this impossible situation.

"I found them at the Southern Air Temple two and a half years ago and I brought them here to keep them safe. They are one of the last legacies of the Air Nomads. I couldn't let them die off like other remnants of my people."

"What the hell is going on?!" Toph asked

Katara laughed and smiled as she looked around at the gigantic beasts flying around Appa. "Toph there are more flying bison than just Appa!"

"What the hell does that mean?!"

Airis smiled "I'll land Appa that way you guys can check out my buddies and Appa can check out his new friends."

Airis steered Appa towards a small temple on the North Eastern side of the island. The other bison followed; curious about the new comer. The island was made up of mostly pine trees, a couple of maple and some other random hard and soft woods. The air was clean and fresh like they way it had been when Sokka and her had taken Aang to the remains of the Southern Air Temple.

As they approached the temple Katara could see it was a mini version of the Southern Air Temple where Airis and Aang had spent their short-lived childhood. It was situated on the top of a large cliff over looking the wild sea.

Appa landed smoothly on a platform on the front of the temple and Katara walked off Appa's tail. She could see why Airis loved this place so much. Katara herself felt such a strong connection to all the elements here. She couldn't imagine what the Avatar felt when she was here.

Katara was still awing at the beauty of the island when the other three jumped off Appa. Airis quickly airbended the saddle off of Appa and placed it gently next the door which, surprise surprise, had to be opened by airbending.

Toph 'looked' around at the herd of bison that had landed all around them. "Whoa! There are more Appas!"

Momo ran over to one of the bison climbed up on its head and pawed at its arrow. It groaned and Momo jumped off hissing at the massive creature jumping onto Toph's shoulder.

They laughed at the poor lemurs antics. "Don't worry their friendly" Airis said smiling "C'mon let's get you guys settle in. You don't mind if I set Appa loose do you?"

Katara shook her head.

Airis smiled and called over Ling, the bison with the calf, and told her to show Appa around. For some freakish reason the bison listened to her and Ling, her calf, and Appa took off to explore the island, the other bison followed too.

Sokka turned around "How did you do that? How did you get them to listen to you?"

Airis shrugged "When you live around bison for almost three years straight, you tend to learn how to understand each other."

"So Appa's not the last flying bison" Katara said looking at Aang in the saddle. "Aang would've have been so happy to see this." She added sadly.

Everyone was quiet for a moment until Airis clapped her hands "Alright! Who wants a warm bath, clean clothes, a hot meal and a soft bed?!" She said getting into an airbending stance and quickly performing the necessaries moves to shoot a gust of air out of each palm and open the wooden door.

"REALLY?!" said the two siblings.

Toph shrugged "Sure" she wasn't big on hygiene and the best bed for her was always the earth but like anyone else she loved a good meal.

Airis nodded, picked up Aang, so his head was resting on her shoulder, and motioned for them to pick up their stuff and follow her.

They followed the Nomad and were soon led down a massive stone hall with paintings of airbenders and monks all over the ceiling.

Katara stared at them in awe. "Did you make all these?" she asked Airis.

Airis nodded "Yep. It's amazing what you can do with waterbending and the right paints."

Katara continued to look at the paintings. The atmosphere was so regal Katara felt as though she was a princess.

They stopped in a circle shape area. There was a fountain with a bison sculpture sitting on top in the middle of the room. There were ten different doors in the area.

Airis turned around. "These are the apartments. Go ahead pick one; it'll be you room for the next couple of days."

Sokka and Toph ran to the doors and opened and slammed doors looking through them for one they liked.

Katara stayed next to Airis who was still holding Aang. "Is there a room where Aang and I can stay together? I want to be as close to him as I can"

Airis nodded _Match-maker step 1: Get them together. Check!_ She thought inside her mind. Thank the spirits Katara didn't have mind powers like she did or Katara would so be strangling her right now!

"I know just the one" She said as she moved toward one of the doors.

She led Katara to a room which both Sokka and Toph had looked in and moved on. The room calm and simple atmosphere with two beds attached to the walls, one of them had a soft purple colour the other had a soft green. The room was both warm and cool at the same, perfect for Katara. There was a small window with simple shutters letting in some light.

In the middle of the room there was a short table, for eating or writing on, with a mixture of purple and green cushions around it. There was an elaborate painting of a bison one wall.

"It's so beautiful" Katara said softly "You did all this?"

Airis laughed and placed Aang gently on the green bed resting his head on a soft pillow she randomly picked up off the ground. "You can really tell I have no life. Hey, check out the view from the window I know you'll love it.

Katara walked up to the window and gasped as she looked out. The view was breathtaking. You could see the thick forest of green spread out in front of you. The forest moved on to a beach, the sand was white and looked like a pearl and the heavy ocean waves crashing against the sand was the icing on the cake for Katara. She could feel and hear the push and pull the sea caused.

Suddenly Katara was brought back from her perfect world by a hand being placed on her shoulder. Katara turned around.

"C'mon the bedroom's only part of this temple. You got a lot more to see. Let's go see if Sokka and Toph actually ended up fighting over a room." Airis gave Katara a friendly smile and she returned it.

As they were leaving Airis felt Katara look back at Aang. "He'll be fine here. Don't worry."

Katara nodded and followed the Nomad out of the room, still feeling a bit weird about leaving Aang alone.

* * *

Airis was Katara's new favourite person in the whole world! 

Katara relaxed and sunk deeper into the warm bath. The smell of the lotus bath oils filled the air. It felt sooooo good to be in a bath tub. She propped her head up on the edge of the tub and closed her eyes.

Katara was in her room while the others were in the kitchen swallowing up Airis's cooking. She didn't blame them; the airbender's cooking was amazing. Katara had eaten a little bit but had felt uncomfortable knowing Aang was alone and Airis had suggested she take a bath. Katara went to her room and Airis soon came in with a large tub and a basket full of soaps, oils, and anything else you could add to a bath.

Airis said she would return later with some new clothes since her olds ones were tattered and burned and reduced to rags. Katara had been quick to give her old clothes to Airis. Airis then brought in some buckets of water from the fountain and poured it the bath. She had warmed the water up quickly with her firebending and left the room.

Katara rubbed the soap all over her body and washed her dirty hair. After a long time of soaking, Katara reluctantly stepped out of the tub when the water got too cold and wrapped a fluffy towel around her body.

Katara was waterbending the water out of her hair when Airis knocked on the door and brought in some clothes. She layed them out on Katara's bed and Katara walked over to the clothes Airis stepped back to let Katara see her new wardrobe.

There almost every type of Water Tribe clothes lying out in front of her; everything from simple traveling clothes to elaborate ball dresses, but there other ones that caught Katara's eye.

"There are Fire Nation clothes here too" Katara pointed out.

"Yeah" Airis answered "in case you want to get used to Fire Nation clothes early, there a bit different than Water Tribe clothes. You don't have to now, there just there if you want them."

Katara nodded as she picked up a casual Water Tribe robe. Airis nodded and left the room.

Katara put on the dress and fixed up her hair in its usual braid and hair loopies and left the room to go find something to eat, she was starving and right now she felt comfortable enough to leave Aang alone in the room while she went off to do something.

_Whoa! Back up a minute._ Katara paused and looked at Aang's bed where he was lying. _I took a bath and Aang was in the same room the whole time!_ Katara blushed heavily. _Well at least he wasn't awake._ She thought as she laughed awkwardly. She sprinted out of the room and shut the door quickly.

* * *

Katara walked slowly down the elaborate halls staring at the paintings that told the story of Aang and Airis' people. She came to the end of the hall and looked at a painting of a female airbender with her arm wrapped around a younger Airis, they were both smiling and you could tell they loved each other deeply. Katara put a hand on the wall. 

_This must have been Airis' mother. _Katara thought as she looked at the airbender and her daughter. Airis' mother had long black hair and airbender tattoos. She was beautiful, Airis looked a bit like her mother though not too much. You could still tell they were family.

Katara frowned. That's how she and her mother had been before the Fire Nation raid. Her mother had been a waterbender and after she had hid Sokka and Katara safely in a far away ice cave she left to help protect the village. She never saw her mother again. Her father had told her that she had died. And Katara had never been the same again. She'd bet anything Airis felt the same way.

Katara was interrupted by Sokka's voice. "YUM for a FIREBENDER you do cook pretty good!" He had emphasized the word firebender and his mouth was full, Katara could tell that much.

She heard wind and then Sokka scream. "I'm an airbender, who happens to know water, earth AND firebending, Smart Guy! Get it right." Airis said in a calm tone.

Katara opened the kitchen door to see Sokka being held to the ceiling by Airis' airbending.

Toph laughed and pointed in Sokka's general direction. "HA, HA"

Airis let Sokka drop with a thud, Sokka got up and rubbed his head, Katara giggled.

Airis turned around and smiled at the waterbender "Hey, Katara" she said cheerfully.

"Hey" Katara said as Sokka sat back down and continued to eat his food.

Airis stirred something on the stove and pulled out a jar of spices. "You want something to eat Katara?" the airbender asked.

"Umm, okay I am kind of hungry" Katara said walking over to Airis and picking up a knife and some vegetables.

Airis saw this and pushed her away "No, no I'm cooking, you relax, take it easy and sit down eat some bread and pastries while you wait for supper to be ready."

"Uhh? okay" Katara answered as she sat down at the table and grabbed a piece of bread.

Sokka was gobbling down some pastries.

"Sokka calm down your going to choke yourself!"

Sokka grabbed a couple more pastries and shoved them down his throat. "Can't, must eat! Too good!" he said behind a mouth full of food.

Katara scrunched her face up in disgust and tried to cover herself from the flying crumbs coming out of Sokka's mouth.

Airis laughed and went back to the stove where some good smelling soup was cooking. She grabbed some bowls and filled them with the soup. Airis balanced four bowls on her arms as she walked over to the table. She handed one to each of the teenagers at the table and sat down herself.

"It's a recipe I picked up in the Fire Nation, it's basically beef stew with some spices and veggies, nothing special." Airis said cooling hers with a mini tornado and grabbing a spoon.

Katara ate her stew. She savoured every bite; it was delicious. She looked around Sokka and Toph were gobbling down their food like starved bearded-cats. Sokka finished his in nothing flat and asked for more.

Airis laughed "Help yourself" she said jerking her thumb towards the oven. Sokka jumped up and ran over to the stew pot.

Toph stopped eating and asked "So Crazy when did you learn to cook?"

Airis leaned back casually. "The Air Nomads loved to cook and they actually taught us how to cook at an early age. I've known how to cook ever since I was 5 or 6. But, I've picked up recipes and techniques from all over the world though."

"I love this stew Airis" Katara said finishing up the bowl.

Airis smiled "Wait till you guys see what I have for dessert."

Sokka finished his second bowl and looked up to Airis with the thick broth covering his face. "Dessert? Alright!"

Airis picked up everyone's bowl and dumped them in the sink. She bent down and pick up a large pink fruit pie. "Ta da! The Air Nomads world famous fruit pie, just for you guys!"

Sokka stared at the pie, mouth watering, Toph punched Sokka and Katara smiled. But inside her heart fell. Airis reminded her so much of Aang when she did that and it made her miss him that much more.

* * *

Later that night the group found themselves in the living room of the Temple. Katara and Airis were playing a game of four nations while Sokka was sharpening his boomerang and Toph was playing fetch with Momo. Airis layed down a tile and smiled. 

"I win" the Nomad said simply

Katara rolled her eyes. She had lost for the thousandth time. She got up and announced she was going to bed.

"Wait Katara, I want to do a healing session with you and Aang." Airis said getting up.

The two girls said good night to Sokka and Toph.

They walked down the halls and Katara stared at the painting she saw earlier. "She's your mother isn't she?"

Airis stopped and smiled at the painting "Yeah she is"

Katara put an arm around Airis and the girls walked back to Katara's room. The room was dark but Airis soon sent little sparks to the candles all over the room and it lit up. The tub was still in the room but they just pushed it aside. Airis pulled out a mat from underneath one of the beds and hauled it to the middle of the room.

Katara picked up Aang and layed him on the mat. Airis left and got some water and a basket of bandages and other healing stuff. Katara worked on Aang's right side and Airis on his left. They took off his bandage and cleaned the wound on his back. After, Airis pulled out some weird jar of dirt.

"Katara, I'm gonna cover his arrows, is that okay?"

Katara looked down at Aang. She knew he wouldn't like it but it had to be done. It would make it safer for him in the Fire Nation.

She nodded and Airis bended the weird dirt onto his back, arms, and forehead. Katara put a clean bandage on the lightning wound and Airis began to take off his pants.

"What are you doing?" the waterbender asked a bit embarrassed for both Aang and Airis.

"I'm taking off his pants so I can cover the tattoos on his legs" She answered questioningly.

"Ohh" Katara blushed as Airis hauled off the unconscious boy's pants and covered his leg tattoos. When she was finished she put his pants back on.

Katara was holding Aang's head as Airis did this. She noticed that his ribs were sticking out. He hadn't eaten in a while and it was beginning to show.

Airis seemed to notice this too. She pinched his skin and took note of the reaction. Airis shook her head. "We're gonna have to feed him"

"How are supposed to that?" Katara asked. She had no clue what the airbender meant. How were you supposed to feed an unconscious person?

"Wait here," Airis said getting up "Oh and put this salve on his wound it will help it heal." She digging in the basket and tossing a jar at Katara.

Katara did as she was told and waited for Airis to come back.

Airis came back with another basket and some jars filled with water and something else, she couldn't make it out.

She sat down next to Aang and pulled a long tube out of the basket and a funnel.

"What the heck is that for?" Katara asked.

Airis ignored her question "Can you stand Aang up for me?"

Katara pulled Aang to his feet. Airis placed the tube inside his mouth.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked her eyes wide at the sight of the tube.

Airis pushed the tube down his throat "This is gonna lead the food straight down into his stomach, so he doesn't die of starvation before he wakes up."

Katara stared at the tube as Airis pushed it deeper into her friend's body. It made her want to puke. Once the tube was in securely in Aang's stomach Airis opened a jar of water and poured it down the funnel into his throat. She waterbended the water down into his stomach and let it go. She did the same thing with the mush in the other jars. The mush was really just mashed food.

Once Airis was happy with Aang's stomach content she pulled out the tube, Katara had to really force her food back down when she saw the tube come out, and they layed Aang down on the bed. Katara tucked in Aang while Airis cleaned the tube and put it away with the rest of the stuff they used. Airis grabbed the two baskets and walked over to Katara.

"Katara, get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day. But I want you to enjoy yourself while you're here. Aang will wake up soon I promise."

Katara nodded her head in sleepiness and walked over to her bed and wrapped herself in the warm blankets, not bothering to take off her clothes. The waterbender soon drifted off to sleep.

Airis smiled, took the fire away from the candles and closed the door quietly and heading to her room. She had heard Sokka and Toph go to there rooms while she and Katara were with Aang.

She opened the door and collapsed on her bed; which was made off loose pile of straw and a couple of blankets. She stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts began to bug her ad they always did when she was not do anything.

_You didn't tell them everything_

_Katara knows about Ozai. _

_Yes, but did you tell about Fikra, Phoenix, and oh, how about Red Death. How about your enemies? There definitely gonna try to kill them and you. Especially Combustion, ever since you took that title from him and killed his brother he's wanted to kill you, slowly and painfully. He'll just see them as an opportunity. _

_Why do you bother me?_

_It's what I do. Don't change the subject. You also know __**he's**__ gonna be there, how do you think he'll react to your knew friends?_

_There my group from the Colonies and Aang is my firebending pupil. I'll teach the others weaponry tomorrow._

_Smooth, genius. Don't forget about fake names_

_I hate you_

_I know you do_

Airis covered her head with a pillow and groaned with annoyance at herself. Couldn't everything just be easier?!

_Spirits help me! Mom, I need your help, your guidance!_ When she got no answer she threw herself down in the straw and groaned.

"Why?"She asked the ceiling.

She threw a blanket over herself and the airbender fell asleep furthering her plans.

AN- Come on please, please, please review!

You know you want to ;)

It's easy and it quickens up chapter updates.

Pwease revue :) Pease, pwetty, pease:)


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender

AN- I had loads of free time this past couple a days, (No homework, nothing!!) so here is the next chap! Yay!

(sulks) I wish I had more free time like that... Anyway chap 12 is here so I hope you like it :)

Chapter 12

Airis woke up and sighed. It was a beautiful day in the safest place in the entire world. She got up off her pile of hay after she willed her legs to move. After her meditation, she went outside to feed the bison.

The sun was shining and the air was crisp even though it was summer. Airis managed to tip-toed through the sleeping herd of bison without being detected until Ling's calf woke up and grunted happily at her. In no time the entire bison herd had her in the air and licking her from head to toe, even Appa joined in; Aang's bison had become an honorary member of the herd, then again everyone would be if the herd got the chance.

She managed to shove off the bison and haul out some hay bales for the bison to feed on.

She left the herd and headed back to the Temple. She made a beeline for her weapon closet. The closet was pretty intimidating and gave everyone a good excuse to be suspicious of her, so she kept it secret. She looked through the clutter of weapons.

She started with Sokka, definitely a sword. She looked through her collection and rubbed her chin. _Sokka, Sokka, Sokka? _She asked in her mind. She grabbed a samurai sword, pulled it out of its scabbard and swung and jabbed it around a bit. She held it in her hands.

_Perfect, for everyone's favourite knuckle head._ She said putting it aside, smiling.

She turned to search for Katara's weapon. _A waterbender? What could best fit a waterbender? Ahah! _She snapped her fingers. She dug deep in the closet and pulled out a pair of broad swords. _Two that must work as one, _Airis thought _Just like waterbending. Push and pull._

She placed them next to the Sokka's new sword. She stopped and looked at the overfilled closet. Aang would learn firebending so there was no need to give him a weapon.

Toph! What to give her?

A Fire Nation weapon to suit an earthbender, what could that be? She looked around.

_Hmm …knives? Shuriken? _If Toph could earthbend metal, knives and shuriken would be perfect for her. Airis grabbed the pouch of knives and the bracelets and anklets to hold them during battle.

She collected the weapons and walked over to the kitchen, she had guessed that Sokka would be hungry when he woke up. Airis placed the swords and knives on a counter and grabbed a bowl and ingredients. She threw in the memorized ingredients and stirred the bowl; it soon became fluffy dough.

_How about fake names now, miss perfect?_

_Aren't you only supposed to bother me when I'm not doing anything?_

_Yeah, but I got bored._

_Of course._ Airis rolled her eyes at herself.

Airis made little buns out of the dough and tossed them into the oven.

_Okay a name for Aang._

_Fine! How about that Fire Nation friend he always talked to me about. Ku- Ku- something, Ku- Kuzon! There, Kuzon for Aang._

_Good, now Sokka._

_How about Lee? There're a million Lees._

_Katara._

_Ummm…How about Xia? That's a pretty common name but not too common and it fits her._

_Kay, what about Toph?_

Airis took the buns out of the oven and filled them with the cooked fruit she had already prepared.

She was getting pretty annoyed at herself.

_Jun, there simple, no thinking, just Jun. Leave me be!!_

_Fine! You don't have to be so pissy about it!_

Airis shook her head. What was wrong with her? She set breakfast on the table and pulled out some firebending scrolls while she waited for the others to wake up.

* * *

Katara woke up feeling warm and comfy. She tightened the blankets around her and snuggled deeper into the soft bed. 

_Bed?_ Katara shot up in her bed and looked around._ Oh right we're at the Temple_.

Katara had gotten so used to sleeping outside and in sleeping bags that she forgot she was inside and in a bed for a few seconds.

She fell back into the bed and looked at the ceiling. What time was it?

Katara hauled herself out of bed and moved toward the window. The sun was not too high in the sky but it wasn't dawn either. She knew Airis would be awake, so after fixing her hair, she headed to the kitchen. She made her way through the hallways of the Temple. She opened the kitchen door to find Airis staring at a scroll and performing the movements that were most likely on the scroll.

Airis was wearing brown linen pants and a brown shirt. They didn't really symbol any one Nation and they were simple and looked as if they had been worn a thousand times.

"Morning Katara" Airis said not looking up from the scroll.

Katara froze before answering. "Good morning"

She still had to get used to this mind power business.

"Breakfast is on the table" Airis said stepping forward and bending down. "How did I forget how to do this?" she mumbled under her breathe.

Katara giggled at the Avatar and sat down. Breakfast was little buns filled with something. Fruit? She had never seen these little things before. But, Airis had cooked them so she supposed they would taste alright.

Katara bit into one as Airis put away the scroll and sat down beside her.

Airis grabbed one of the buns as the kitchen door slammed open. Katara whipped her head around to see Sokka but Airis just continued to munch on her breakfast like a bison.

"What is that delicious smell?" Sokka said as he slammed the door closed. He walked over to the short table and picked up one of the buns. "What are these things?"

Before anyone could answer him he shoved it in his mouth.

"Breakfast" Airis answered, standing up to get some water to drink "and there's no need to slam open the door."

"My bad" Sokka said through about five buns stuffed in his mouth.

Katara slapped his wrist. "Save some for the rest of us!"

Sokka pulled back his wrist and babied it.

Katara rolled her eyes and Airis just shook her head."I'll whip up another batch in case" She said smiling.

Airis pulled out the ingredients just as Toph entered.

"Hey" Toph said as she gave a half-hearted wave.

"Morning" Katara and Airis answered. Sokka was still eating and managed a muffled "hey"

Toph sat down and grabbed a bun. She paused. "Hey Crazy what are those things on the counter? They weren't there yesterday" Toph said as she pointed to the pile of weapons close to Airis.

Airis smacked herself in the face. "I almost forgot" She threw the second batch of buns in the oven and brought the weapons to the table.

"Since we're gonna be going to the Fire Nation you two won't be able to use your bending" she said pointing to Katara and Toph "and Sokka, you won't be able to use you're your regular weapons either. So-"

Airis layed out the weapons more clearly. "I'm going to give you guys some Fire Nation weapons since you guys are definitely going to need them."

Before they could ask why Airis began to talk again.

"Sokka, here" she said handing him the samurai sword "I'll teach you how to use it later."

Sokka stood up and pulled the magnificent sword out of its scabbard. He swung it around a few times and smiled "I like!"

"Katara this is for you" Airis said giving her the broad swords. "They are two halves of one whole; the same basics as water. I figured you could learn to use these the easiest."

Katara pulled out the swords. She had never thought that she would wield a sword in her life. Fighting with waterbending was one thing, with swords was different. She looked at one of the swords, she could see herself in it clearly; they had been well taken care of.

"And Toph," The airbender slid the bag full of knives over the table towards Toph. "I figured this might suit you best."

Toph pulled out the anklets and bracelets. "These are the same weapons one of those girls that pretended to be Kyoshi warriors used, the one with no emotion in her voice. What was her name…?"

"Mai?" Katara suggested

Airis eyes widened at the mention of Mai's name.

"You've met Mai?" Katara asked the Nomad noting her reaction.

Airis looked down "We've fought each other inside and outside tournaments, yes. She has no emotion at all, but she is a force to be reckoned with."

"Anyway, if you can earthbend metal, Toph" Airis said changing the subject. "These will be more useful to you."

"I can, so I can make these knives when no ones looking. That's your idea?"

Airis nodded. Toph shrugged "Okay"

The airbender got up and took the buns out of the oven and filled them with the roasted fruit. The rest of the breakfast was small talk.

* * *

The sun was at its peak. Katara and Airis were standing at opposite ends of the battle arena staring each other down. Toph was at the center of the arena her arm held above her head. She 'looked' at the two opponents and dropped her arm. "Go!" 

Katara was the first to charge whipping out her swords and slicing them against each other. Airis stood there waiting for the right moment.

At the last second Airis pulled out her swords and block Katara's lunge. The scraping of metal was all you heard as the fight continued; Katara on offensive and Airis on defensive.

They both seemed to understand their swords as they moved around each other in a deadly dance. Airis saw an opening and took it swinging her blades in a confusing attack. She managed to knock Katara off balance and turn to the offensive.

Airis moved her swords in a mesmerizing way, trying to confuse her opponent. Airis ducked to avoid a blow and tripped Katara. She fell to the ground hard but was up in an instant. Again all that was heard was metal and heavy breathing.

They were both tiring. Airis jumped over her opponent and trapped Katara's swords between her own and with a flick of her wrist, Katara's swords flew out of her hands and across the room.

Airis smiled and slid her swords back into their scabbard. "I'm impressed you're a real natural when it comes to broad swords and I only gave them to you this morning!"

Katara got her breathing back and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll still didn't beat you."

Airis shook her head "I've had three years to practice, you've had three hours. Trust me you're gonna be real good with these, with a little practise."

Katara picked up her swords and sheathed them.

"Good job you two!" Toph said coming up and slapping them on the back. "Katara I'm surprised I thought you'd only last a second out there with Crazy!"

"Umm Thanks?" The waterbender said as she drank some water out of her canteen.

Toph pulled one of her knives out of its hiding place and began to pick at her nails with it. "Hey where's Snoozles?" Toph asked as she slid the knife back under her sleeve.

Airis shrugged "He went to go practice in the woods with his sword after our battle. My best guess is that he's still there whacking trees with his sword. Pretending he's some kind of master."

Katara giggled she could just picture her brother 'sneaking' around trees, and then stabbing them to shreds and yelling a crazy warrior cry.

"You let him win that one" Toph pointed out.

Airis smirked "I couldn't very well have Sokka hating me for beating him twice in a battle before we went to the Fire Nation. Now could I?"

"Good point" Toph answered.

"Hey you guys want to go swimming?" Airis asked before opening the door that led out of the roofless arena. "It's going to be a hot one today, and I think all of you have a pretty good hold on your new fighting styles."

Katara perked up at the mention of swimming "Yeah!"

Toph shrugged "Enh, sure why not?" She might not go swimming but she would at least like to be near something cool in this heat.

The three girls walked through the corridors. Katara wondered where Airis was taking them. The door leading outside was in the other direction. Airis stopped in front of a wooden door.

"This is my room" Airis said standing next to the door that looked like it had gone through hell and back again. "Excuse the mess. But amazingly it's the only way I can find things."

Airis opened the old door and revealed a room cluttered with Spirits no what and trunks scattered every which way. In the corner was a pile of hay with a pillow and sheets on it; her bed obviously. She had a large window on the other end of it showing off the sea it had a cushioned window seat on it that could have been a bed.

Airis shoved her way towards a blue trunk with red borders on it. Katara was about to step forward but it was a sea of mess and she didn't want to accidentally break something.

Airis opened the trunk and began to dig in it. "Don't be afraid to walk. If you step on something it doesn't matter. If it's on the floor it's probably not that important or it won't break."

Katara began to make her way towards Airis, but Toph stayed where she was, she couldn't feel anything but mess and she didn't like it.

Airis kept her head in the trunk and was throwing clothes left and right.

"No, no, definitely no! No, no, where are they?" Airis said her words muffled by clothes.

Katara peered over the airbender's shoulder. "What exactly are you looking for?" Katara asked looking at the inside of the trunk. It was full of Fire Nation outfits!

"Ahah!" Airis exclaimed as she pulled out some white pieces of clothing. She held one of them up to Katara. "Bathing suits" She said answering Katara's earlier question.

Katara looked at the bathing suit.

"This should fit you okay" Airis said handing one of them to her. "I took the Fire Nation symbol off a long time ago don't worry. Sokka won't have such a big a heart attack"

Katara and Airis made their way back through the mess and reached Toph. Airis held one up to Toph "You want to go swimming Toph?"

Toph shook her head "I don't do water, I will go to the beach to cool off"

"Fair enough," Airis turned to Katara "C'mon Katara let's go change. Toph do want to head to the beach and meet us there?"

"Sure, I go find 'master of the sword' first and I'll tell him about going swimming, 'kay."

Toph headed towards the thick woods and Katara and Airis went off in the opposite direction.

* * *

He was the ultimate warrior. No one could sneak up on him. He had the stealth of a bearded cat, with the accuracy of a dragon hawk and the strength of a rhino. 

Sokka hid behind a tree about to sneak up and attack another tree and he was narrating his amazing profile in the process. The tree had no idea what was coming.

Sokka looked down at his amazing new sword. He did like his machete-club and his boomerang was irreplaceable, but if he had to go to the Fire Nation and wield this sword and this sword only, he wouldn't complain. It was doing great things to his ego! Not that he needed it.

First he had fought with the sword for the first time ever and he had won against Airis. In her firebender face! He could do anything with this sword!

Now he was training. Training for the day he would have to fight those untrustworthy firebenders. He would survive, he would not die in this war; he couldn't. He had promised Suki that he would return to her. And he would not break that promise.

Sokka lifted his sword, and prepared to attack the unsuspecting tree. Suddenly he heard a deep, loud rumble and he was shot up into the tree by a large pillar of rock.

"Hey, master of the sword!"

It was Toph. He could've guessed. She always did things like this, starting with the time she woke him up with the same pillar when she was starting to teach Aang earthbending.

"We're going to the beach!" She yelled from the ground "Sugar Queen and Crazy are going to meet us there! C'mon Snoozles!"

Sokka squirmed to get out of the tree, but he was stuck. Of course he was stuck, what else did he expect the universe to do for him, lower him gently back down to earth? Yeah right!

"C'mon Sokka! They're gonna kill us for being late!"

He tried to free himself from the branches one last time, no luck. He sighed "I can't!" he yelled to Toph "I'm stuck" he said under his breath.

Toph heard him anyway. "HA! Why didn't you say so?" Toph laughed as she summand a boulder as big as her, from the ground and whacked it against the tree. Sokka immediately fell from the tree screaming. He hit the ground hard and groaned in pain. Toph handed him his sword.

"C'mon we're gonna be late and their gonna bitch at us"

He groaned and rubbed his head as he took his sword back. "I thought you said we were going to the beach. There's no reason to hurry is there?"

"Oh right!" Toph realized then shrugged "My bad, let's go" she said grabbing him by the collar and dragging him reluctantly towards the beach.

* * *

Katara looked at the large waves slamming against the beach. It was sooo tempting to just jump in and swim to her hearts content, but she wanted to wait for Sokka and Toph. Where were they anyway? 

Katara looked at Airis who was in, like her, a white two-piece bathing suit and was almost drooling at the large waves.

"Look at those waves! It is going to be so much fun to ride those!" Airis said jogging over to the forest edge.

Katara looked at her in confusion "What are you doing?" she asked as she saw Airis kneel over a freshly fallen tree.

Airis didn't hear her question and ran back over to the ocean, gathering a glob of water and running back to the tree.

Katara walked up beside the Nomad and watched her work. She sliced through the tree with the water and stepped away with a large board.

"Perfect" Airis said smiling at the plank of wood. "You want one too?" She asked Katara.

"Umm…Okay, what are they?" Katara said as Airis happily went back to work on another one.

"I call 'em wave riders. I don't know what other people call them." Airis said handing Katara the second one.

"We're gonna go surfing! If you want to" Airis said pointing to the waves. Airis started to run to the water. "You coming Katara?"

Katara looked at the board then Airis and smiled "Hold up I'm coming!" She said laughing like a five-year old.

Airis jumped into the water with the board under her and used waterbending to swim farther out into the sea. Katara followed her; getting a mouth full of salt water in the process.

Once they reached a distance pretty far out, Airis sat on her board, rocking back and forth at the cause of the smaller waves. Katara caught up with her and sat on her board next to Airis. They stared out into the blue for a while. Katara noticed that the water out a sea was darker and a deeper blue than the clear almost turquoise water near the shore.

Katara pushed some wet hair out of her eyes and asked "What do we do now?"

Airis smiled and looked out to sea "Now, we wait for a wave and if you fall off use your waterbending and if you can't, don't worry I'm here"

"What does that mea-"

"Here comes one! Do what I do!" Airis interrupted while paddling her board in the opposite direction.

Katara copied Airis and soon felt the water lifting her. Airis stood up slowly on the board and Katara did the same.

Katara smiled and looked down at her board; barley skimming the surface of the wave. She looked ahead and gazed in awe at the tunnel the wave had create. Katara whooped. This was AWESOME! She was inside a wave! Katara kept her balance on the board and actually touched the inside of the large wave.

Airis began to laugh and Katara started to laugh too. She lost focus on her actions and suddenly she felt her board become unbalance and shake under her. Katara fell off the board and the deep blue color of the ocean was all she saw before her board came back and hit her in the head; making everything black.

* * *

"Alright where is this beach?!" Sokka yelled at Toph. 

"We'll be there soon. You were on the other side of this freak'n island. Give me a break!" Toph huffed as she crossed her arms and continued to walk.

Sokka copied Toph. _Why did we let her join our group? Miss tough, smart-ass earthbender!_

Five minutes later Sokka heard the sound of crashing waves become clearer.

Toph paused "I can't feel them, they're probably swimming." She shrugged

Sokka was about to run through the trees and jump into the water himself when Toph's arm jerked him back.

"Wait I can feel them, Crazy is dragging Sweetness onto the beach for some reason"

Sokka eyes widened and the pictures of the worst things that could possibly happen flew through his mind: Katara could be dead and Airis could want to finish them all one by one and…well…pretty well all of them had Airis killing them in it.

Sokka burst through the forest, and him being himself, branches flew at him and smacked him in the face along with countless tree roots that tripped him just for the fun of hurting him.

He finally made it out of the woods covered in scratches with 'big brother mode' set on full throttle. His eyes zoomed over the beach until he saw Airis kneeling over Katara and Airis was doing something to Katara!!

Sokka charged the girl with a warrior cry and was stopped in mid run by earth boots he slammed right into the ground.

"Get away from my sister you fucking firebender!!!" he yelled at Airis as he tried to get up. He fell flat on his face again and Airis gave him a death glare.

"I'm trying to save her, moron!" She said looking back over Katara. She used her waterbending and collected the water that was inside her lungs.

"What happened to my sister!!?" Sokka yelled again this time making no attempt to get up.

Airis continued to look over Katara pressing on her chest and giving her mouth-to-mouth.

"What are you doing!!?"

"I'm trying to get Katara to breathe again." Airis said using an airbending technique to put air in her lungs. It didn't work. Airis looked over Katara quickly, checking out where she hit her head and then her lungs again.

"Why aren't you breathing Katara?" Airis said as she compressed her chest.

Sokka was scared to death, what if she didn't breathe. Millions of 'what ifs' stampeded into his head "Katara?" he asked in a whisper his voice barely audible.

"Katara come on!" Airis pushed as she continued to compress Katara's chest.

"DO SOMETHING!!" Sokka yelled in a complete panic. He was stuck unable to move, while his baby sister's life was in the hands of someone he wouldn't trust if his life depended on it.

Airis's eyes darted from left to right, she had to do something. She would not let anymore innocent people die because of her.

Airis sighed; she knew what she had to do. Even though she swore she would never do it again. She had to do it, to save Katara.

Airis closed her eyes, closing out all distractions. She spread her hand over Katara's chest, Feeling her way through Katara's organs, Spirits she hated doing this. Airis found her lungs and she grasped them with her bloodbending. Airis exhaled and focused on the young waterbender's lungs. Airis's hand contracted and Katara's lungs followed the action.

Airis hated bloodbending and she prayed to the spirits that breaking her vow would pay off.

_C'mon work! Katara you can't die now! Work damn it! Work, work, work, WORK!!! _Airis screamed inside her head. Beads of sweat began to fall off her head like a waterfall.

Sokka stared and prayed to La, Tui, Yue and any other spirit he could think of, to have mercy on her and let her live. He held his breath and hoped that Airis knew what she was doing.

Katara's eyes shot open and she sat up so fast she got the wind knocked out of her. She fell back down panting and gasping for breath.

"KATARA!!" Airis and Sokka yelled in union. Airis disintegrated the earth boots and Sokka ran up to hug his sister.

Airis wrapped her arms around Katara and so did Sokka.

_What the hell had happened? _Katara thought. She was having a hard time to breathe and there was a dull ache at the back of her head.

"Never ever do that again!!" Airis and Sokka scolded.

Katara sat up as soon as she caught her breath. "Great now I have two moms!" Katara rubbed the back of her head. "What happened?"

Airis stood up and Sokka followed her "Yeah, what happened, Airis?"

Katara looked at Airis then Sokka and sighed. "Help me up before you two argue into the next Avatar cycle" Katara said holding out her arms.

Airis and Sokka helped her up. The moment she was safely on her feet, Sokka began to yell again.

"So? What happened?" Sokka started.

"Katara and I went surfing and while we were riding a wave she lost balance and fell off. Her board came back and hit her in the head. That's what knocked her unconscious, half drowned and almost dead."

"You almost killed my sister!" he pointed at the Nomad accusingly.

Airis looked away. "Sokka I admit that I suggested surfing and yes often the board may come back and hit you if you're not careful."

"The traitor confesses!!"

Katara walked up and punched her brother in the arm "Sokka, **I** was stupid, **I** didn't pay attention and **I** got myself hurt. Airis had nothing to do with it."

Sokka looked from Airis to Katara and back again. Sokka lifted up a finger to argue but he got two female death glares and he stepped down.

"I'm going back to the Temple" he mumbled kicking some sand.

He walked away and said over his shoulder "Try not to kill yourself when I'm gone, okay Katara"

Sokka stomped away to the Temple like a young child who didn't get what he wanted at the market.

Airis and Katara giggled at the Sokka's two-year old attitude.

The giggles died down and Airis became serious and put a hand on Katara's shoulder. "Seriously try and be careful next time, I was really scared"

Katara's blue eyes widened "Really?"

Airis smiled softly "Yeah, even though the revealing of my true identity kind of drifted us apart. I still feel like you're somehow my sister."

Katara smiled and hugged Airis. "Thanks Airis."

Toph walked up to the two teenagers and they broke the hug "Okay, I took my time, what happened and where is 'master of the sword'?"

Katara draped her arm over Toph's shoulder "You have no idea and he stomped away to the Temple"

Airis laughed "C'mon, we better head back to the Temple, I got to go start dinner, and Katara, me and you have to take a look at Aang again later."

Katara nodded "Kay"

Toph laughed and squirmed out of Katara's arms. Airis shook her head and the three girls headed back to the Temple.

"Hey! Now you have a near-death experience to tell Aang about when he wakes up" Airis pointed out, trying to lift Katara's spirits.

Katara smiled Airis was right, she had more in common with Aang now. They had both stared death in the face and if Airis's diagnoses was right, they would both live to tell about it.

Katara looked at Toph and Airis's faces and smiled. She noticed that somehow her near-death experience brought the small group closer together; even Sokka and Airis. She liked that feeling, though she hoped she would never have to do it again.

* * *

The Temple was invitingly cool and Katara had wanted to just walk around the Temple admiring the paintings, letting the drafts that drifted through the halls cool her down and relax her. But Airis had insisted she go to bed right away thanks to the surfing incident. 

Katara went without argument and welcomed her room with open arms. She sat down on Aang's bed she looked into his peaceful face. She stroked his arrowless forehead. He looked really different with his new hair and no arrows. She had missed him a lot these past few days. She missed his light attitude, his warm company and everything else that made Aang, well…Aang.

Katara frowned. Why did she miss him so much? He had only been out for a couple of days, and Airis said he would wake up in about a week. Why was she asking herself? What were these feelings she felt for the young Avatar?

Katara shook her head, she needed help. Maybe she could ask Airis. She had experience with love, right? Katara sighed and moved over to her bed. She was too tired to think about it, let alone comprehend it. All she knew was that she was confused and it started with Aang.

Katara sighed and pulled the covers over her body. _How did life get so complicated?_ She thought before nodding off to sleep.

AN- A tiny bit of Kataang for you. I'm gonna amplify it in the next chapter though. So, yay!

Review! Please? It helps a lot when I'm writing the next chapter

I love all reviews!!


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender

AN- Chap 13! Here ya go! Some of Airis's past, Kataang, and Sokka being...well...Sokka!

Hope you all enjoy it :) (and that the intro wasn't too spoilerish ;) )

Chapter 13

When Katara woke up it was sundown. The colors in the room were darker and the air was cooler. Aang was still unconscious and her head was still hurting a bit.

Katara stretched and yawned before getting out of bed and heading down to the kitchen for supper. She took the same hallways she always took. Again she stopped to look at the painting of Airis and her mother. She smiled.

_I wonder if Airis has any pictures of her firebender boyfriend. I bet he's cute. _

Katara looked away and continued to walk down the stone hallways; her footsteps echoing through the Temple.

_That's not what your wondering _she told herself_ Your wondering if she can give you any info to help clear up your mind about Aang and you. Not her dating stories. Now go find her and ask her. The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be. Go! _

Katara sighed. She headed for the kitchen, but when she opened the door, the room was completely empty. Even Sokka wasn't there; stuffing his face. Katara stepped into the room cautiously; it was a bit creepy when no one was there. Katara's eyes scanned the room. Nothing looked out of place except that there was a note on the table.

Katara sat down and read the note allowed. "Katara, supper is on the counter, same as the spark rocks so you can heat it up. Sokka and Toph are in the arena training if you want to find them and if you want to find me just follow the trail marked 'spirit' (it will be marked on a tree.) Airis"

"PS-if you go outside watch out for the bison, their too friendly for their own good."

Katara read the note again. What she understood was that the note was saying 'I know you want to talk, so come find me' Katara let out a relieved sigh; sometimes this mind power stuff was a real time saver.

Katara heated up the spiced rice with veggies and ate it quickly, even though she knew Airis was waiting for her and that she had a ton of patience. Katara left the room and snuck past the training arena were she heard clashing metal, Sokka's repeated screams and Toph's arrogant laughs.

Katara stepped outside into the cool air and awed at the sunset. Pink, orange, and red colours conquered the sky and painted the clouds. Bison speckled over the tops of the tree getting ready to settle in for the night. On the ground next to the door was the saddle she, Airis, and Toph made.

_Now _she thought to herself_ she said something about the trees being marked._ Katara walked up to the trees. There were five main paths all leading somewhere different and sure enough next to the each path was a tree with a symbol engraved in it. Katara looked at one.

"Water" she read out loud. She went over to the next path. "Earth" She walked to the next one "Fire" She said as she moved to the next one.

"Let me guess, Air?" She said as she read the next one "Yep, so the last one must be Spirit."

She was right and Katara headed promptly down the path. It was worn down and easy to follow.

_Airis must have come here a lot. It's so flat. _Katara thought. She could feel the packed down ground even through her shoes.

Bordering the path were flowers; all different and equally exotic. Airis had to have planted them there. They were from all over the Earth Kingdom. She even recognized a few of them; a panda lily here and there and a couple of lotus. Though there was one flower that caught her eye, one she had never seen before. It was deep red and looked like a lily. She picked up one of the strange flowers and smelled it. It smelled spicy. Could flowers smell spicy?

Katara shrugged and continued down the weathered path. She began to hear a muffled voice and it became clearer as she walked further. It was Airis, Katara could tell that much. After she rounded a couple of corners she could finally hear Airis clearly.

"You guys would be so happy for me, I found a new family. Well we're not really a family yet, but I hope we become one. I've been pretty lonely ever since you guys left" Airis said her tone casual like she didn't have a care in the world.

_Who is she talking to?_ Katara thought as she pressed her back against the thick trunk of an old knarled tree.

"There a real nice bunch too. I'm glad they're the ones Roku told me to wait for. Don't worry; they'll never replace you guys. We'll be heading to the Fire Nation soon, so I won't be hanging out around here for awhile. Yeah, I miss you guys too."

Katara cocked her head. Was Airis going crazy or was someone else on the island?

"I wish you guys could meet them. But I know that'll never happen. Maybe you could kinda meet them." She said in a suggestive tone. Katara closed her eyes and tried to get more of the conversation.

Suddenly Airis's voice changed and Katara could almost see her smirk. "In fact one of them is eavesdropping on me right now; she's a waterbender. Come on out Katara, I want you to meet some people."

Katara blushed then smacked herself in the face. She forgot Airis's mind powers. Katara walked out of the woods into a clearing; fiddling with the lily she had picked up in embarrassment. She looked around but all she could see was long grass and a large cherry tree in the middle of the field. Airis was lying underneath the tree; her legs propped up against the trunk of the tree.

Katara looked all around her. She saw no one but her and Airis in the field. Wasn't Airis talking to someone? She walked over to Airis and looked down at the airbender. Calm storm grey eyes looked up into confused ocean blue ones. The airbender smiled and Katara frowned.

"Weren't you talking to someone?" Katara asked.

Airis chuckled and got up. She dusted herself off. "Yeah I was, Katara I want you to meet some of my friends." She said draping her arm over Katara's shoulder. Katara looked at her weird.

"You may think I'm crazy, but then many people do." She told Katara as they went to the front of the tree. "Look closely at the tree"

Katara did and she saw the symbol of water engraved into the tree. She looked back at Airis "I don't get it. It just says 'water'."

Airis smiled "Yeah and 'water' represents one of my friends who died three and a half years ago; Watomm. I buried him right here under the symbol." She said crouching down and spreading her hand over the ground.

This was someone's grave! Katara jumped back, it wasn't right to stand on someone's burial site.

Airis laughed "Don't worry Watomm wouldn't have minded, it's Eema you had to worry about."

Airis got up and went to the right side of the tree. Engraved on it was the earth symbol. She looked down and smiled at the ground. "My earthbending teacher and one of the best friends I ever had." She said softly.

Katara nodded slowly and went to the back of the tree; it had the fire symbol on it "So your firebender friend is buried here?"

Airis nodded "No offence to Watomm and Eema, but I was way better friends with Faikai, he was always there for me. We were extremely tight."

"Was he your boyfriend?" Katara asked

Airis shrugged "I guess he could have been, but it was more of a tight-knit friendship than a serious relationship. He and I were like close siblings. Like you and Sokka except we didn't have the natural sibling habit to umm… compete."

Katara understood. She and Sokka were almost always fighting but deep down inside they knew they both loved each other. Sometimes she really loved that fact, other times she absolutely despised it.

Airis continued to stare at the ground as Katara moved to the left side of the tree. It had the air symbol engraved on it "Who's here? You only had four in your group, right."

Airis stood behind Katara. "That's my spot,"

Katara nodded, remembering Airis lying down on the ground in that place.

"I lay down there when I talk to them or just want to feel surrounded by my old friends. You heard me talking to them earlier right."

Katara nodded.

Airis sighed and her shoulders fell "I know I may sound crazy but I like to have 'conversations' with them. It makes my feel calm and relaxed; like they're still alive and just hanging around this tree talking like old times."

Katara smiled and placed a hand on Airis's shoulder. "I do that too sometimes; I talk to my mom at night. It makes me feel like she's with me and it comforts me."

Airis smiled and looked into Katara's eyes.

Everything was silent for a moment. All you could hear was the wind rustling the long grass and the sound of crickets just coming out for the night.

Katara stepped back and looked at the ground "Did you really mean what you said earlier, about wanting to be apart of our family?"

Airis blushed and turned away "Yeah, I hope I didn't scare you or pressure you with that. But it would be nice to be part of a family again."

Katara looked at Airis and smiled. "I for one would love to have you be part of our family. I think you'd fit right in with the rest of us. Plus we all really like you, even Sokka; even though he's not going to show it anytime soon."

Airis looked at Katara with hopeful eyes "Really?"

Katara nodded, smiled, and decided to have some fun. "Avatar Airis of the Air Nomads" Katara said with added drama and bad acting "Would you do us the honour of joining team Avatar."

Airis laughed and caught on. She bowed with equal drama and bad acting "Yes, Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, it would be an honour to join the prestigious Team Avatar."

Katara placed a hand on both of Airis's shoulders. "You are now part of team Avatar, may you survive with all your limbs intact."

Airis and Katara buckled over in laughter, clutching their stomachs and falling into the soft grass. The tall, prickly plants tickled their faces and caused them to laugh even more. If that was humanly possible

After awhile the two of them regained composure and wiped the laughter tears away from their eyes. As Airis helped Katara to her feet she asked "Do you really mean that? Do you want me to be a part of your team?"

Katara looked the airbender straight in the eye and smiled softly "Yeah, I do"

Tears came to Airis's eyes and she hugged Katara. The waterbender hugged her back. "Thanks, I want to be a part of the Gaang" Airis whispered into Katara's ear.

The two girls pulled away and Airis looked to the sky. By this time the sun had almost fully set and the first few stars were coming out of the horizon. "C'mon we'd better get back." Airis said leading Katara out of the clearing.

"Bye guys" Airis said to her dead friends as she and Katara slipped out of the clearing.

Katara smiled and followed Airis down the old weathered path. Everything seemed carefree and peaceful as she and Airis returned to the Temple.

Suddenly Airis snapped her fingers and Katara jerked back in surprise. "I almost forgot!" The airbender exclaimed. She had a small knowing smile on her face as she looked at Katara. Katara cocked her head. _What is she talking about?_ She thought as Airis's smile grew.

Airis pulled back "You came and found me" she pointed out.

Katara nodded unsure where Airis was going with this. Oh wait, she remembered _Crap!_ She cringed inside her head.

"Sooo?" Airis said as she rolled on her ankles. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Ummm…" Katara rubbed the back of her neck "nothing. Nothing! That's what I wanted to talk about nothing, yeah nothing!"

Airis shook her head "You do realize you're talking to someone who can read minds and is an earthbending human lie-detector, right?" She pointed out. "You're stuck with telling me the truth"

Katara was about to say something, but she didn't bother. She couldn't win this one. She stared at the ground hoping for some miracle to rush her out of this situation. Airis sensed this and went over to Katara and draped her arm over her shoulders.

"It's okay. I understand; I kinda went through the same thing. If you ever want advice or tips come see me." Airis said starting to walk back to the Temple. Katara nodded and lifted her head. She was glad Airis knew she wasn't really ready to talk yet.

The thing was that she wasn't sure if she was ready to talk or not.

* * *

By the time they reached the Temple it was dark out and you could see the stars clearly. The moon was out and shining warmly over the two girls. Katara looked up at the Temple; it looked empty and ominous in the moonlight. 

As they entered the Temple, Katara and Airis began to hear strange noises. Katara looked around with wide eyes trying to locate the noises. Airis felt around and scoffed.

The noises persisted. "What is it?" Katara asked moving over to Airis.

Airis looked her in the eye with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "I'll give you one guess." She said moving over towards the room where the sound was coming from. Katara followed her. Their footsteps echoed throughout the stone halls. Even their loud, continuous footsteps couldn't dominate the strange noise.

Katara had heard this noise before, but she couldn't place it. Airis moved silently over the ground as Katara plodded behind her. Airis finally stopped in front of a door. She pressed her ear to it and smiled.

"What is it?" Katara asked again, this time she whispered. She knew the sound was coming from behind the door.

Airis smiled again "I present to you…" She swung open the door "Sokka raiding my kitchen!"

Sure enough there was Sokka surrounded by food looking like Momo when he was caught in the moon peaches sack. _Sokka was making that noise? _Katara thought_ I've known him all my life and I have never heard him make those creepy sounds before._

Sokka looked around "Uh… I can explain!" He said dropping some fruit and a couple of bowls on the ground. Sokka cringed at the sound.

Airis just stood there, not even flinching "Sure you can. That's why you have bun filling all over your face and fire flakes stuck to the bun filling and why you're surrounded by food."

Sokka looked around "Uhh yeah there's a good reason for that. You see a massive eagle hawk swooped out of the window and went straight for the food. I, who was training in the kitchen at the time, went over to save the food. We had a huge battle and he almost won, but I caught him off guard and pushed him out the-BURP!"

"Sokka!" Katara scolded from behind Airis.

"Your body sure seems to agree with you." Airis said sarcastically.

"You're lucky I'm an Air Nomad and that we don't have attachment to material possessions." Airis said pushing some hair out of her face.

"You mean you're not going to kill me?"

"No Sokka I'm not going to kill you, I'm not that evil. But I am evil enough to make you clean up this mess while Katara and I go to check up on Aang." Airis smirked when she saw Sokka's unhooked jaw. "I'll be back to check up on you in the morning." Airis said closing the door, leaving no room for Sokka to argue.

"Aw man!" Sokka said before crouching down to pick up some pieces of a bowl.

* * *

Airis smirked from behind Katara, remembering the event that happened earlier this evening. Sokka hadn't changed a bit since she last saw him at the South Pole. Quickly, Airis was dragged out of her thoughts by Katara's exhale and the sound of water leaving its source. 

Airis smiled down at Katara who was working on the new healing technique Airis had just showed her.

Aang was doing well under her care. But Airis was sure that it was due to more than Katara's great healing abilities, Airis could see that they had a strong bond that she was sure none of them realized was there or that strong. She had only seen that bond one other place…

Airis shook her head and went back to focusing tightly on Katara's movements; they were perfectly liquid; like they were supposed to be. Airis, content on Katara's progress, went back to her thoughts. She already Katara knew there was something there, she wondered if Aang knew it too.

Katara pressed the water onto Aangs back and moved it up and down. Katara kept her breathing even and equal. Suddenly Aang's body began to convulse and his eyes and mouth opened wide, his short hair even stood on end. Katara jumped back dropping the water into a puddle around her.

Aang's spasms ended and his body fell onto the floor in an almost lifeless heap. Katara quickly crawled over to him and checked his pulse. She held her breath. It was faint and slow but still there.

Shocked by the sudden scene, Katara burst into tears. "Aang, I'm so sorry!" She cried into his neck. "I can't believe I hurt you!"

Katara looked up at Airis for support. To Katara's shock her face showed no emotion.

"No" Airis shook her head. "You didn't hurt him, in fact you actually helped him" She said sitting down on the other side of Aang.

"What! He acted like he was being hit by lightning all over again! How is that good?" She yelled placing a hand over his chest.

"You saved him pain when he woke up." Airis said simply.

Katara wiped away her tears. "What?"

Airis placed a hand on Aang's forward. "Regrettably when he wakes up, he will need more regular healing sessions. What you did right now erased some of the remembered pain, so when you do the healing sessions again when he is awake he won't remember as much pain. It will help quicken his healing process."

"So he's just remembering pain, I'm not causing it? Can he feel it?" Katara asked staring into Aang's unresponsive face.

"No he won't remember anything that happened to him during his unconscious state. Right now he is having dream after dream and vision after vision. He won't remember a single thing it will be like he just woke up after being hit by lightning."

"Okay" Katara said, her eyes closed and her voice was just barley a whisper.

Airis noted that Katara's eyes wouldn't move off of Aang's face. She sat up. "Finish cleaning the wound and we'll call it a night." She said as she walked over to the bandage basket.

Katara nodded and using clean healing water she checked over the wound. It was healing nicely and a healthy crust had started to form over it. Airis handed her a bandage and Katara wrapped it around his chest.

Airis picked him up and layed him down on the bed as Katara picked up the rest of the supplies. Airis pulled the blanket up to his shoulders. She looked sadly down at her old friend. _When are you gonna wake up?_ She pleaded in her thoughts. Inside she was almost as distraught as Katara, over her Aang. But her past had caused her to harden slightly and cause her randomly bottle up her feelings.

She placed her hand on his arrowless forehead. She exhaled and a white flash surrounded her mind along with the familiar sensation of wind whipping around her. She quickly came out of it, nodded her head. She couldn't tell Katara what she had just seen. Katara needed to sleep and this would surely keep her up all night. Airis pushed it to the back of her mind and turned her back on the unconscious airbender.

Katara, oblivious to what Airis had just did, handed Airis the basket and sat down on her bed with a sigh.

Airis opened the door "Get some sleep Katara, you're gonna need it tomorrow." She said as she closed the door behind her.

Katara raised an eyebrow "Huh?"

Airis was long gone and it was useless to go after her, besides she was too tired to chase the airbender for a question. Katara sighed and collapsed into her bed. She spread her arms out like an eagle hawk in the soft fabric. This whole day had been about confusion; starting with breakfast all the way to the last words spoken to her before bed.

She turned over on her stomach and propped her head up on her hands. She stared at Aang. She could see his steady breathing. She closed her eyes and let it lull her.

The question she had asked herself a million times rammed itself into blissful thoughts and kicked them out. _Does he feel the same way? _Katara groaned in annoyance at herself she covered her face with a pillow.

Of course he felt the same way, right?

Katara turned over. Who was she kidding? He was the Avatar! For spirits sake! And who was she? A Southern Water Tribe peasant; the last waterbender of the southern Water Tribe.

_But a waterbending master and well on your way to becoming a master healer. And you guys also have something else in common: You're the last Southern Water Tribe waterbender and he's the last airbender. Well, one of the last airbenders if you count Airis, but do see the connection?_

_I guess, but still._

_Fine sulk! But you'll never know how he feels until you ask. Before I leave, here, think about this. Remember when Aang was about to leave for the Guru with Sokka?_

_Yeah?_

_He was about to tell you something before Sokka interrupted, right?_

_Yeah?_

_Flashback_

_They had finally gotten the Earth King's support and Aang and Sokka were leaving for the Eastern Air Temple and Chameleon bay, for Aang to master the Avatar State and for Sokka to see dad._

_Katara was leaning into Appa's warm fluffy fur and petting good bye to the huge bison._

_Aang walked up to her and got her attention._

"_Katara, I need to talk to you" he said and she opened her eyes and stood up straight._

"_I've wanted to say something for a long time" Aang looked down at his boots and blushed._

"_What is it Aang?" She had asked._

"_Katara…I-" He was cut off by Sokka grabbing him and giving him a nuggie on his bald head._

"_Alright! Who's ready for a man only man trip?"_

_End Flashback_

_So you think he wanted to tell me that he loved me?_

_I don't think, I know. Sleep on that, honey._

Katara stared at Aang. Did he really love her? She wished he was awake! She needed to know what feelings were going on between her and the young Avatar. Katara sat up and walked over to Aang's bed. She sat down and looked into his face for the millionth time. She needed to know. She was tired of being kept in the dark.

Were these feelings she felt for Aang really love? She wished she could talk about it with Airis, but the words were blocked in her throat every time Airis confronted her with anything remote to it.

Katara cupped his cheek. She wondered how it would be like to kiss him. The way things were, she doubted she would even get the chance to satisfy that curiosity. Then slowly, without Katara even knowing herself, she bent down to meet his lips. She closed her eyes and gave him a slow, gentle kiss; her first kiss. Moving her lips slowly over his made her miss him all the more.

Katara pulled away and smiled down at his peaceful face. She wanted him to be awake and him to respond to her, to deepen the kiss, to fall into each others arms and to promise to each other that they would never separate. But Aang wasn't awake and Katara wasn't even sure if he felt the same way.

Katara wiped a single tear away from her eyes. She kissed him on the forehead. "Aang, I think I love you"

For some reason Katara expected Aang to wake up and say the same thing. But none of his features changed and his breathing stayed even. More tears fell and she shook her head. _I just need to have patience like Airis, Toph, and Sokka and wait for him to wake up. He will wake up. _

Katara got up and went over to her bed. "Good night, Aang" She said turning over and wrapping herself more tightly in the purple blankets. After today she was sure of at least one thing: She was almost sure she loved Aang and that he might actually feel the same way.

* * *

It was pitch black and the middle of the night when Katara was woken up by someone shaking her gently. 

She groaned and turned away from the person. It was probably Sokka wanting to lecture her about surfing or hanging around Airis.

She pulled the blankets closer and groaned again when the person didn't stop shaking her.

"Go away" She moaned, her hand trying to swat away the person.

"Katara?" asked a familiar gentle, unsure voice.

Katara's eyes shot open and she sat up immediately. The room was completely dark, everything had its own different shade of dark and the only light source was the moon and the many stars that somehow managed to appear in the room, causing everything to have a light sliver hue. Staring at her were a pair of large grey eyes.

"Aang?" She asked the person.

He smiled "Katara"

"Aang! You're awake!" She said wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you so much"

Aang wriggled out her grasp and layed her arms next to her side. He sat down on the bed. "Katara, I have to tell you something"

Katara looked at him and entwined her fingers with his. Aang blushed "Katara, I love you. I have ever since the day you broke me out of that iceberg."

Tears rushed to sapphire eyes. "Aang I love you too"

He looked up at her and smiled "Really?"

Katara nodded, tears choking her words.

"Katara?"

"Yes Aang." She said staring into his eyes.

"Katara?"

"Aang?" She asked, confused

"Katara?" Aang let go of her hand and began to fade away into the dark.

Katara got up out of the bed. "Aang!" She cried into the darkness, the room began to disappear and everything turned to black.

"Katara? Katara? Katara?..." The voice came from nowhere and Katara ran around in circle trying to find its source.

"Katara, wake up." The voice was gentle and almost motherly, but also urgent.

"Katara, wake up…"

* * *

Katara shot up in her bed, covered in a thin sheet of sweat. Her eyes were wide open as she looked to the side of her bed, half expecting Aang to be standing there. 

He was there. But he was still unconscious and he was being held in Airis's arms like a small child.

"Aang?" She asked to no one inparticular.

Airis placed her free hand on Katara's shoulder "A dream, Katara"

Katara stared down at her lap "oh" she said sadly, her hands fiddling with the blankets.

Airis pulled Katara toward her. "C'mon Katara, we have to go"

Katara pushed the blankets off her and swung her feet to meet the stone floor. "What?"

Airis walked towards the door. "We have to go, here's your pack sack" She said picking up a lumpy object from the ground and flinging it toward Katara.

Katara caught it in mid air and looked in it. "There's nothing in here?"

Airis was waiting for her outside the door. "Exactly. C'mon Toph and Sokka our waiting for us and we need to leave soon if were going to beat the storms."

Katara flung the bag onto her shoulder and quickly followed Airis. They headed down a hallway Katara had never been through. Airis stopped in front of an elaborate painting of a cherry tree orchard and handed Aang to Katara. She pulled away a piece of the painting. It revealed a small hole and she summoned a fire ball to her hand and pushed it through the hole, Airis exhaled and the wall swung open to reveal a long winding staircase.

Airis took Aang back and began to walk down the staircase. The moment Katara stepped in Airis slammed the door closed with some airbending and they became encased in darkness.

"Airis! I can't see!" Katara said as she felt the walls to keep her from tripping and falling headfirst down the stairs.

"My bad" Airis apologized as she shifted Aang and freed up a hand. Her hand became surrounded by fire and a warm glow circled the airbender.

Katara relaxed at the sight of the fire. "Where are we going?" She asked as she found her step with Airis, making sure to keep a safe distance away from her lit hand.

Airis stared straight down the staircase "This passage leads down to a cave in the side of the cliff. I keep a boat there; I knew I would have to use it some day."

Katara nodded "Why are we leaving so early? Why aren't we taking Appa?"

"I checked into Aang's mind earlier and saw that he is going to wake up earlier than expected and Appa is too big to bring to the Fire Nation, this way we'll be safer and Appa will be safe and sound on the island."

They reached the bottom of the stair case it was a dead end. Airis handed Aang to Katara again and got into an earthbending stance.

Katara pulled Aang closer to her. Relaxing in the comforting warmth of his body "I don't see how a small boat will get us safely to the Fire Nation"

The wall crumbled after Airis punched its weak spots. "Did I say boat? I meant Fire Navy Ship"

Katara stared at the massive ship on the other side of the wall. If her memory served her right it was about as big as Zuko's when he was chasing them to the North Pole. Flying proudly at the top was a Fire Nation flag.

"Well we'll be safe with this. But...umm how do we drive this thing?" Katara asked as Airis took Aang away from her again.

"Well the Fire Nation makes things way more complicated then it needs to be, I've looked over this boat and at the very least it would take three people to steer it. Besides I made a few modifications so now it only takes two people to drive it."

Katara saw a couple of figures moving on the deck. They were clad in red Fire Nation outfits. Suddenly Momo flew down from the ship and perched on Katara's shoulder, chittering in lemur language.

"Let's get on" Airis said nodding toward the gang plank.

The boat seemed much bigger when Katara was on it. She looked around. The deck was completely deserted, not even a box cluttered its surface. Airis hauled up the gang plank and hung it up on a couple of hooks.

Katara felt a hand on her shoulder and it felt like it was made of metal. She turned around and ended up face to face with a skull-faced warrior suit. Katara screamed and tripped over her own feet.

The person in the suit slowly brought their hands to the helmet. They took it off with suspense and the person began laughing.

It was Sokka; of course.

"I got you! I got you good!" Sokka said clutching his stomach and laughing harder.

Katara clenched her teeth and called up some water from the ocean and smack Sokka with it, sending him crashing into the railing. "Ow!" he said rubbing his head.

Katara smiled at her work, until Airis intervened "Stop it you two, Sokka I need you to head to the helm, Toph's already in the boiler room filling up the boilers with coal. Katara come with me."

"Here Sokka take Aang with you." Airis said handing Aang to the warrior.

He nodded and left carrying Aang over his shoulder; suddenly respecting Airis's authority. _What did she do to him while I was asleep?_ Katara thought as her gaze changed from Sokka to Aang.

"Katara" Airis said as she pried Katara's eyes off Aang. "Let's go"

Katara followed Airis to the front of the boat. "Copy me" Airis said getting ready to waterbend.

"We need to put as much water as we can between us and the rocks surrounding this place."

She turned around and gave Sokka a hand single. He returned it and yelled something; probably to Toph.

Airis turned back and nodded to Katara. "Let's get this sucker outa here"

Katara and Airis collected as much water as they could and pushed it to the end of the ship. It took off with a jerk and groaned as it left its birth. The two waterbenders began to raise the boat by creating a giant wave.

They boat looked as though it was flying. "Keep it up!" Airis yelled to Katara, but her voice was lost in the howling winds around them.

They manoeuvred the ship though and over the sharp rocks. But, the longer they kept it up though, the harder it became for Katara to breath, the mixture of the cold night air, freezing ocean spray, and the howling winds, made her lungs feel as though they were being cut apart from the inside.

"Katara start to lower the water!" Airis yelled, this time over the winds. Katara nodded and the boat began to slowly return to the water.

It landed back to the ocean with a large groan and a splash to match it. Katara and Airis held on to the railings until theirs knuckles turned white and waited for the reaction to be over. Katara looked up and saw Sokka fighting with the steering wheel, she smiled when he regained a smooth control over it.

Katara looked over to Airis and smiled. The winds had died down and now there was hardly even a breeze. Talk about creepy weather.

"We're really going to the Fire Nation" Katara said releasing her killer grip on the railing and leaning on her elbows on the cold metal surface. She stared into the black water and smiled when she saw the moon and stars reflection in it causing it to sparkle like a million diamonds on a black velvet canvas.

She heard Airis sigh and lean casually back on the railing. "Yep, back to the Fire Nation" she whispered quietly.

Airis turned around and stared at the same scenery as Katara. Airis raised an eyebrow and cocked her head at Katara.

"Speaking of which, we need to find you a new wardrobe and a new hair style." Airis said pointing to her Water Tribe style.

Katara looked down at her clothes "Oh, yeah" Her clothes right now would make her stick out like a sore thumb in the Fire Nation.

Airis wrapped her arm around Katara's shoulder "C'mon it'll be fun, I'll even show you Sokka and Toph's new clothes."

Katara nodded and looked at the dark abyss one last time before heading down into the hold with Airis. They were finally leaving for the Fire Nation.

AN- Whoa this was a long chapter! Longer than chapter 6. Anyway I want to hear what you think about it. I want to know!

So please review.

Please, pretty, please, with a cherry on top.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA

AN- Sorry about the wait... You know the usual, school, stuff piled up. Stupid term...

Man, are these chapters getting longer or is it me? Anyway here is chapter 14, this one has some more Kataang in it and…uhh…ooh, ooh! (sing-song voice) Guess whose back!

Chapter 14

Katara played with her new hair. She was in a large metal room near the centre of the ship, traveling to the Fire Nation. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She really did look Fire Nation. She still needed to get used to her new hairstyle, though. Katara had had the same hairstyle for as long as she remembered.

Katara looked behind her and gazed at Aang, lying on the bed with red Fire Nation pants. He still wasn't awake. But Katara held onto the words Airis had said when they were leaving the island; that he would wake up sooner than expected.

His hair was longer now and looked like real hair. Katara looked back into the mirror again to look at her clothes. They were made of silk and consisted of a long skirt and sleeveless top. Everything she wore was red. Even the necklace she had used to replace her mother's. The only thing that made her stand out from any normal Fire Nation person was her blue eyes. But Airis had reassured her that there were some people in the Fire Nation that had blue and that her eyes should be of no concern to her.

Katara smiled. Airis was like the mother she lost and the best friend she always wanted. Toph was a good friend but Katara always had to force her to do girly stuff, Sokka was her brother, enough said and Aang, she liked Aang to much to consider him a normal friend.

Katara was taken out of her thoughts by Airis's voice coming through the vents. "Katara, lunch is ready, so come up get some fresh sea air and enjoy a nice meal!" Her voice was cheerful and full of fun. Katara laughed before moving up to the vent and saying "I'm coming, hold your ostrich horses"

Airis laughed from her vent and Katara moved to the door. She looked back at Aang and sighed. She hated leaving him alone but if she wanted to take care of him she needed to take care of herself. She had already been lectured by her two moms about this (coughSokkacoughAiriscough) and they had made it clear that she didn't miss any meal times.

She closed the door and locked it behind her. It squeaked and Katara flinched, she hated those annoying ship sounds. As she made her way through the memorized passages of the ship, Katara lurched from side to side now and again thanks to a wave hitting the ship. She looked around; the inside was completely made of metal unlike her father's fleet which were made from toughened animal skins, the rare piece of wood and dolphin-whale bones.

Katara climbed up a hole with a built in metal ladder and found herself on the first floor under the deck. She popped her head just in time for a couple of hamsters to run past her nose and up another hole. She pulled herself out and headed for the dining room. The room was easy to find 'cause it was the only one with any sounds coming out of it. She heard Airis and Toph laughing. She pushed open the door to see Toph smashing Sokka's face into his food and laughing along with Airis.

Sokka managed to pull himself out of Toph's grip. He pulled some food off his face and ate it. He turned around licking his fingers to see Katara staring at him. The look he gave her was priceless. His eyes were wide and looking straight up at Katara and he was in mid lick of his middle finger and it seemed as though he was giving Katara 'the bird'.

Airis and Toph fell over in laughter as Sokka got busted.

"Nice to see you too, Sokka" Katara said cheerfully

"But…I… Airis…Toph pushed me…" Sokka sputtered

Airis and Toph laughed again. Katara looked down at the hopeless trio. _Those two could live off laughing._ Katara shook her head and sat down beside Airis.

Airis pulled herself back together and offered Katara a bowl of noodles. But her silence didn't last. Airis sputtered and began laughing again and Toph joined her, along with Sokka.

_What the hell?_ Katara thought as she slurped up a long noodle. _What is wrong with them?_

Airis stood up and wiped her eyes. "I gotta go, there's no telling how long this current will lead us in the right direction." She left and closed the door securely behind her.

Toph and Sokka finally stopped laughing and went back to eating their lunch; chuckling every now and again. Katara looked up from her noodles and glanced at her friend and brother. They were both wearing Fire Nation clothes.

Sokka was wearing what Airis told them was a common outfit for Fire Nation teenagers and Toph was wearing a suit that wasn't much of a change from her old one; just red and a bit different with the placing of the fabrics.

Toph hadn't changed her hair much; she still had her bangs that shadowed her eyes, but her headband was red. _Big surprise there_ Katara thought sarcastically. What really surprised Katara though, was that Sokka had actually let Airis change his warrior wolf tail.

He had a top knot now and Airis had told his to stop shaving the sides of his head to let it grow in; making it more Fire Nation.

"Sokka?" Katara asked her brother as she played with a noodle in her bowl.

Sokka looked up from his food. He had a mouth full of noodles. "Yeah?" his answer muffled by the food.

"Since when do you listen to Airis? Last time I checked you hated her 'firebender guts'"

Sokka swallowed his food and placed the bowl down formally. "I have come to a realization that Airis is a worthy opponent and a reliable ally, not to mention a fairly good leader; not as good as me though."

Now Katara was really confused "Translation from Sokka language please."

Toph leaned over to Katara "Airis kicked his butt the night we left and gave him a lecture. After a lot of yelling they came down to a truce."

Katara nodded "That's more understandable"

"Hey I let her kick my butt, I was being nice!" Sokka yelled standing up.

"Yep, and Master Pakku married the Fire Lord." Katara said finishing her noodles and leaving the table.

Sokka sulked and sat back down. He grabbed his bowl and gobbled up the rest of the food.

Suddenly Airis's voice came through the vent. "Sokka, your turn to drive, Katara and Toph come up to the deck and we'll spar."

Katara walked over to the vents "But I need to check up on Aang"

"No buts, you've been with him all morning, you need fresh air"

Toph grabbed Katara's arm and hauled her over to the door. "Crazy is right, c'mon"

Reluctantly Katara gave in and let Toph drag her all the way up to the deck were Airis was waiting for them; all smiles.

"I knew you'd have to do that to get her here" Airis laughed walking over to them.

"Here are your swords" Airis said handing Katara her broad swords.

Katara pulled them out of their scabbard. "I thought I forgot them" She said looking at the weapons.

Airis shrugged "No worries, I grabbed them while you were sleeping I knew it would be hard for you to bring them."

Airis turned to Toph "Got yours?" she asked

"Yep" Toph answered tapping her wrist.

"Alright, let's see how good you've gotten" Airis said backing up smiling.

"You guys against me, Go!" Airis said as she pulled her swords and deflected a blow from Katara.

Toph manoeuvred around Airis and flung a couple of daggers at her. Airis, using both her swords she deflected them and twirled Katara around. "Good Toph but try and use I more unexpectedly, that's the key"

Toph threw some daggers at Airis feet. They caught the fabric of her shoes. "Next time, throw them stronger" Airis said twisting her ankle, the knives let go immediately. "Feet and legs are stronger than the look."

Katara lunged at the airbender, but Airis ducked at the last minute and pushed Katara far away. "They are to halves of one sword Katara. They are one sword, not two separate." Airis said dodging a close dagger, tripping Toph and jumping away.

Katara was up in an instant and slicing her swords toward Airis. Airis swerved to avoid the attack and knocked a dagger out of Toph's hand in the process.

Toph jumped in the air, where she was completely vulnerable and blind, and kicked a couple of shuriken at Airis's chest. They caught her arm instead. Airis flinched as she hauled them out and continued to fight.

"Airis you're bleeding! Stop fighting!" Katara said as she defended a blow from Airis.

Airis pulled back and smirked "This is nothing. Keep fighting" She said catching Toph in the air again and kicking her down hard. Toph hit the ground with a large thud and Airis turned to Katara. Katara charged Airis, but she left her abdomen open and set up for a target. Airis ran between Katara's swords and kicked her in the gut.

Katara rolled to the other side of the deck. She hauled herself up and glared at Airis. She would never go easy on them. Katara saw Toph get up and run to Airis and Katara did the same. Airis watched the two girls charge her and stayed there till the last moment. Then she jumped up and caused the two girls to run head first into each other. They both went flying back and skidded to a halt on the sun warmed metal deck.

"Good job you guys" Airis said tearing off a strip of her clothes and wrapping around her arm, as Toph and Katara got back up to their feet.

Toph wiped a thin layer of sweat off her forehead. "You are too good"

"I'm okay with weapons and so are you guys, I want to see what you guys can do with your bending." Airis said pushing some hair out of her face.

"I gonna go see how Snoozles is doing, besides if I started bending on this boat, we would never make it to the Fire Nation." Toph said waving and heading back inside the ship.

"You still want to spar?" Airis asked Katara.

Katara saw the determination in Airis eyes. She wanted a challenge and so did Katara. Katara nodded and got into a bending pose "What'll it be, water vs. fire or water vs. water?"

Airis did the same "Your pick" she said narrowing her eyes.

"Let's try water vs. water." Katara said summoning a large column of water and sending it straight to Airis. Airis smirked and broke through the water and using the remains of the attack she encircled herself with water and created a long water whip.

Airis attacked Katara multiple times with it each time Katara destroyed a bit of it. Airis let the water fall and froze the stream leading right to Katara. Katara tried to move but her feet were frozen, Katara couldn't unfreeze herself in time to avoid a large wave. The ice broke and Katara rode the wave to the other side of the deck.

She changed the direction of the wave and returned it to Airis, who froze it and broke into a million pieces. Airis surrounded her body with water and flung herself at Katara.

Katara threw ice daggers at her opponent but the water suit swallowed and melted all of them. Airis grabbed Katara with her water arms and threw her to the other side.

Airis created two columns of water and slammed them into Katara, they picked her up and coiled around each other and she froze it there. Katara stuck at the top. Airis smiled at her work. Katara smirked and melted the ice surrounding her.

She trapped Airis feet with some octopus tentacles and wound her way up to the rest of her body. She brought Airis up to her face. "I think this means I win,"

Airis smirked "Not really" She froze the water surrounding her and cracked it. She jumped away and she and Katara began to circle each other.

"You're good" Airis said as she swerved to avoid some ice daggers that were a little to close for comfort.

"Thanks" Katara said as she collected a glob of water from the ocean and surrounded Airis with it. Airis quickly broke through it and flung some ice daggers of her own at Katara. Katara twirled around and dodged all of them.

They both went for the floor with the idea of freezing each other to it. But when they both looked up they saw that they were both frozen the frozen to the metal surface

Airis and Katara were both breathing heavily and used this as a break. "Truce?" Airis asked Katara, through breathes.

Katara nodded "Truce"

Both of them caught their breath and melted the ice surrounding each other. Airis walked up to Katara and draped her arm over Katara's shoulders. "We're too good!" Airis laughed

"Yep!" Katara said cheerfully.

Airis smiled "C'mon let's go check up on Aang" she said leading Katara back down to his room. Knowing it was exactly what Katara wanted to hear.

* * *

Katara didn't know what time it was, but she guessed it was late. The lights in the room were dimmed and everything had a shade of red to it. Airis and her had chatted for a long time discussing their lives and examining each others love life. But no matter how much Katara pried or pushed Airis would not give up any info on her old firebender boyfriend. Katara in turn kept her mouth shut about Aang. 

Airis was sitting upside-down on a chair; her knees hanging over the side, her butt on the seat and her head resting on the floor, with her hair creating a long cascading route to her face. Katara was sitting on the bed next to Aang with her legs brought up against her chest and her head resting on her knees.

"So" Airis said staring at a particularly interesting spot on the ceiling. "Who was the first guy to ever tear out your heart and stomp on it until it was twitching?"

"Colourful" Katara remarked. Airis smiled but it looked like a frown to Katara, so Airis frowned instead.

"But it's true. So who was it?" Airis pushed, stretching her arms.

Katara tightened her grip on her legs "Ummm if I had to guess I would say Jet, a freedom fighter in the Earth Kingdom…" Katara went on to tell her everything about Jet.

At the end of it all Airis looked up at Katara "Harsh"

"Yeah," Katara whispered and stroked Aang's hair.

"You know something he might not be dead, if he's as tough as you say"

Katara focused her blue eyes on the female Avatar. "What makes you say that?"

Airis scoffed "You're talking to the person who survived the massacre of her people, fought off an Arctic hippo; underwater, lived through a battle carrying three dead friends and fought the Fire Lord and won. I think if he has a little bit like you say he is he'll survive a rock blow to his internal organs. I helps too, that he has friends with him"

"Really?" Katara asked her friend. Though she was unsure if she actually wanted to him to be alive, he was always an asshole, he may changed to a different type of asshole, but he was still an asshole. But even he, didn't deserve to die.

"Yep" Airis answered simply.

"Okay, so your turn same question" Katara said grinning. _With Airis this aught to be good_

Airis brought her hand her face and stroked an invisible beard. "Hmm let's see…stomped heart…twitching…"

Katara giggled at her thoughtfulness. Airis broke eye contact with Katara and sighed. "I guess it would have to be my firebender boyfriend again," Katara nodded, even Airis had begun to call him that "after I won the fight I only saw him for a couple of weeks after, to help him heal. But after he was healed we were broken apart and never allowed to see each other again."

"I'm sorry." Katara looked away. "Did you love him?" Katara asked, her friend's adventures peaking her curiosity.

Airis smiled and looked at Katara "Yeah I did" Katara smiled back when she saw the real smile in Airis's eyes. She really did love him and she was proud of it.

Katara moved her hand to Aang's chest. Would she and Aang ever be like that? Proud and happy in their love. Katara sighed; it was a long shot. All she could do was pray that their love could even blossom into anything more than the strong crush Katara had for him.

"Do you think he'll be in the Fire Nation when we get there?" Katara asked as Airis sat back upright, stretched and moved to the bed. She layed down next to Aang and looked down at her feet.

"Yeah, he'll be there" Airis whispered lowly; she didn't want to talk about it.

Katara nodded sleepily. _Yay! More drama for our group!_ Katara groaned at her own sarcasm. Her groan was interrupted by a massive yawn, she stretched in respond and layed her head on the pillow.

Airis looked up at Katara with the corner of her eye. "Man, you're tired!"

_Stupid mind powers! _Katara thought. "Na, I'm not tired"

_Don't even try that_ Katara heard Airis's voice inside her own thoughts.

"How did you do that?!" Katara asked looking down at Airis

Airis smirked and shrugged "I really don't know. Here, I'll take the night shift with Aang. I'm good for staying up all night. Besides I need to check up on some of my old firebending teachings."

Katara sputtered "But Aang needs me…"

Airis sat up and shook her head. "Not now, he doesn't, but he does need you to rest up so you can help him when he really needs it. Come on, you can sleep in my room"

Katara nodded her head slowly,_ Damn Airis and that stupid line!_ She looked at Aang "Okay"

She took Airis hand and followed her to her room. It was the same like all the others though it only had a bed for one in the corner. Katara and Aang's room had had a larger bed so Katara could sleep next to Aang and monitor him. That's what Katara had told Airis when she had given her the room, but Airis had understood a whole different story.

"Sleep." Airis ordered gently "Sleep in tomorrow morning too, trust me you'll feel much better. Night Katara" She ended softly, like a mother who would rock her child to sleep.

"Night Airis" Katara replied getting into bed. Airis smiled and closed the door behind her.

_Now where did I put those firebending scrolls? _Airis thought as she went to find the scrolls.

* * *

Airis backtracked to the kitchen; there she found the bag of scrolls she had tossed in the corner when they first departed for the Fire Nation. She also found a mountain of dishes piled in the sink. 

She sighed and went over to clean them. She grabbed a rag and pulled a bucket of water next to her.

_Me again! _

_Damn it! Why now?_ Airis pleaded to her subconscious

_Because you're doing dishes and therefore not really doing anything_

_I hate you_

_Thank you, by the way I realized that you didn't tell them about their new names yet._

_I'll do that soon enough._

_Tomorrow morning_

_Fine! What else miss I-know-everything!?_

_For your information, you still need to warn them about Combustion, tell them your Fire Nation name and tell them about 'you know who'._

_I will,to the first and second, and they already know enough! To the third_

_The longer you wait, the harder it'll be. Alright that's all I gotta say, so see ya later_

Airis cleaned the last of the dishes and picked up her bag of scrolls. She looked around the kitchen. _Better get something to eat for the night. _She said eyeing the food cabinet.

She dug in the cluttered over-flowing closet and picked up one of her many fruit pies and a bag of fire flakes.

Satisfied she left the room and headed back down to Aang.

* * *

It was the same memory he was always having. He was back at the Air Temple about a month before he finally decided to run away. 

The air was crisp and clear and Aang let out a weary sigh. Avatar training was over for the day and it was already really late. He bet the only other kid that wasn't having supper right now was the one he was trying to find. She could never be found unless she wanted to found; an ability in Airis that made Aang jealous. No matter how hard he tried Gyatso always found him every morning, Airis on the other hand had so far managed to avoid several hours each morning until she actually got bored of hiding. But he and Airis were best friends and they could never stay mad at each other.

Aang sighed as he looked through the deserted bison stables. Appa was there and so was Teke; Airis's bison, but there was no sign of Airis. He had come to treasure their friendship not only because she was the only friend he was allowed to have but because she was the awesomest people he knew. They got along like they were brother and sister. And when they concocted a prank together, no one was safe.

Aang heard the crunching sound of dry hay and Teke and Appa's low groans. He turned around just in time to get a fruit pie smushed into his face.

"Surprise!!" Airis yelled as she smushed the pie further into his face. "How was your day?" She asked dropping the pie on the ground and talking as though nothing had happened.

Aang licked the fruit pie off his face and laughed "Yum! Pear! My favourite!" He said scraping the rest of the pie off his face and eating it.

Airis laughed. She wrapped her arm around his neck in a head lock and gave him a nuggie on his bald head. "Hey" he said trying to break free. He couldn't, so he gently pulled on her hair. One difference between the two twelve-year-olds was that while Aang was bald, Airis had hair that went below her waist.

Airis let go immediately "Ow!" she said rubbing her head, then smiling as if nothing had happened. "Come on let's race our bison!! Through the mountains! First one to reach the Kakate peak wins!" Airis said airbending herself to Teke's head.

Aang followed her. What Aang really liked about Airis was that she could be one of the pride and joy's of the monks one minute; being all calm, serious, and studious. And the next, the most wild and crazy person he knew, besides Bumi,

Airis led Teke to the take off ramp and Teke launched into the air. Aang was about to do the same with Appa, but as Appa took off everything was swallowed by darkness, Aang watched as Airis and Teke grew fainter and fainter…

Appa disappeared from under him and Aang was surrounded by black. His head and back began to hurt and he felt as though he was being hauled out of someplace…

* * *

Aang began to blink his eyes open. But his eyelids hurt too much and he kept them closed. He began to hear things, a familiar song. Someone was humming an Air Nomad lullaby. He felt his head being propped up by something warm and he didn't want to move. He just relaxed and let the song lull him. 

"As the wind rides through the mountains, the bison fly, soaring with there creater…" The person sang. It was a girl Aang could tell that much as she returned to humming.

"As the winds begin to cease, we rest, until the air soars again, a never ending search for its true birth…" She went back to singing

"We are, too, never ending and as one of our lives rests, the next flys away in a never ending journey for our true soul…" The person shifted her lap, and ate something crunchy. He involuntarily groaned and the person froze.

Aang forced his eyes open as, the person shifted him off her lap and onto a bed. She looked down into his eyes. He knew those eyes from somewhere; those stormy grey eyes.

The girl had long hair that rested mainly on the bed even as she sat. She smiled warmly down at him. "Look who finally decided to wake up. You had people worried sick." Her voice was happy and oddly cheerful for someone who didn't know him.

Aang groaned and brought his hand up to his forehead "What happened? Who are you?" he asked.

But before the girl could answer he sat up and looked around his room. It was completely red and a large painting of the Fire Nation insignia was placed on one of the walls.

"Oh no" Aang backed up right into the girl. He turned around; the girls face was now filled with worry and concern.

He pointed a shaking finger at the girl, he realized now that she was dressed in red Fire Nation clothes. "Your Fire Nation, I'm on a Fire Nation ship. I was captured!" he yelled getting up, pain shot through his back he fell on his hands and knees. He remembered the catacombs where he had gotten the wound. _Katara was left all alone! The Dai li won! Azula and Zuko won! The Fire Nation won! _

As is the girl could read his thoughts she placed a gently hand on his shoulder "Wait, calm down" The girl said softly; he had heard that voice before.

Aang rose to his feet and using his airbending he slammed the girl into the wall, she hit it with a thud and a groan. She seemed nice but, Aang didn't know if he could trust her.

She got up almost instantly. Aang bolted through the door. "Wait!" The girl yelled from the room.

Aang raced through the unfamiliar halls of the ship, clutching his pained side. He found a dead end with a metal ladder built into it and going up to more unknown.

"Come back!" The girl said; her voice getting closer.

He looked up at the ladder. "Okay you win!" he said to the inanimate object.

He tried to run up the ladder, but the wound on his back caused him to slow. He reached the top just as the girl reached the ladder. His eyes darted from hallway to hallway; he chose the one that seemed to the main one. The girl jumped out of the ladder hole as Aang began to run-limp down the hall.

"No, not down there!" She yelled running after him.

Aang smiled to himself, he was almost sure this was the right way now.

The girl continued to plead to him. "She needs to sleep!"

_What does she mean_? He thought getting really confused now. He continued to run anyway.

"I'M YOUR FIREBENDING TEACHER!" The girl yelled. This time Aang skidded to a complete stop.

The girl took this chance and jumped for his legs. She grabbed him from behind the knees and he fell on top of her back.

Aang looked down at the girl he was sitting on. "What?!" he asked her.

"Shh!" The girl put a finger to his mouth and focused on the door in front of them. Almost as she was trying to will the door to stay shut.

He listened too. They both heard the pitter-patter of bare feet and the girl underneath him froze. "Please don't open, stay asleep, don't open" Her begs went unheard it seemed. The door began to slowly and Aang began to become terrified of what was behind it. Was it Zuko? Azula? The Fire Lord?

The door began to slowly open. The Fire Nation girl with long hair looked away. Aang widened his eyes in fear. Who was behind that door?

It opened to reveal a girl, in Fire Nation clothes too. The girl was afraid of her? It wasn't Azula so why worry? But who was it?

The girl rubbed her eyes and looked up at Aang and the girl. Her eyes told him exactly who she was. He smiled "What th-" She started to say but she recognized his face too.

"Aang! You're awake!" Katara cried as she ran over to him and picked him up in a killer hug. Aang hugged her back and smiled into her hair.

When they pulled away Katara's ocean blue eyes were blurred with tears and the girl was standing up next to Katara, she was smirking and shaking her head.

"Where am I?" Aang asked as his eyes darted from the girl to Katara. "Who is she?" He asked pointing to the girl that had chased him up here.

Katara opened her mouth to answer, but the girl put a hand on her shoulder. "You're on a ship headed towards the Fire Nation and **I'll** show him who I am. Let's head back to your room Aang."

Katara followed the girl with her arm around him and he let Katara lead him. For some reason this new person had some sort of leadership here. He wondered exactly how much he had missed.

* * *

Aang took a seat on the bed with Katara still hanging on to him. The girl took a seat on a chair next to a desk with a mirror over it. "Are we stow-aways on a Fire Nation ship or something?" he asked 

"Nope, this ship belongs to me" The girl answered simply, shoving her extremely long hair behind her back.

"Who are you anyways?" he asked her, looking at the girl, then Katara for an answer.

The girl gasped pretending to be shocked "You mean you don't remember me?" She asked the young Avatar.

Aang shook his head "I am supposed too?" He asked, shuffling through his memory of the past couple of months. Nope. No one he had met even looked like her.

A sneaky smile grew over her face. "Let me refresh your memory. Close your eyes." She told him. He looked at Katara, she shrugged, and he did as he was told.

He heard the girl pick up something.

"What are you doing?!" He heard Katara whisper harshly.

"You'll see" The girl responded "he'll remember me"

Aang held his breath, waiting for what was going to happen. Was she going to kiss him? If she was, he wouldn't let her. He was saving his first kiss for Katara.

He cracked open his eye just it time for something cool and mushy to smash into his face; it was a ... fruit pie? Katara giggled uncontrollably and so did the girl. The pie was pulled back and the girl yelled "Surprise!!"

Aang's eyes widened in surprise. It couldn't be her! She was supposed to be dead. For a hundred years now. At least that's what he had thought.

"Airis!?" he asked standing up, his face still covered in pie. "Airis! Is that really you?!"

Airis stepped back and opened her arms. "The one and only!"

Aang smiled so much he couldn't breathe. He was too happy for words. He had found another airbender and Airis at that! His old best friend! This day couldn't get any better.

Airis cocked her head at his pause "What? No hug for Airis from pie face?" She said giving him puppy dog eyes.

Aang laughed and jumped into her arms. "I can't believe it's really you!" He said into her shoulder getting pie all over her clothes. He looked up at her face "You've gotten taller" he remarked and she laughed "How did you get here? How old are you now?"

Airis patted the boy's head, wiped some pie off his face and ate it. "Yumm. Calm down" she laughed. Aang smiled. Yep, it was really Airis he was sure of that now.

Aang turned to Katara with tears in his eyes "I found another airbender; I'm not the last one anymore!"

Katara smiled and Airis opened her arms wider. "Group hug! Aang's awake, I'm alive again and we all love each other!"

Katara jumped into the hug and smiled into Airis's shoulder and Aang's hair. She loved that Aang and Airis were ecstatic to see each other but Katara couldn't help but feel a pang of jealously for what was between Aang and Airis.

They stayed like that for a while until Aang began to wriggle out. "Okay I can't stand it" Aang said cheerfully but impatiently "How did you get here and how did Katara meet up with you."

Airis wiped some pie off her shirt and looked at Katara "Tell him everything?" she asked the waterbender.

Katara smiled and nodded "Tell him everything."

Airis sat Aang on the bed and pulled the chair up closer to the bed. "Alright, Aang, prepare for one of the most confusing stories you've ever heard…"

* * *

When they finished it was almost dawn. Aang sat with his legs pulled to his chest, his eyes intent on Airis and his brain... only following every other word. So far he only understood the bases of Airis's story. Enough to know it was complicated and that his brain hurt just thinking about it. Anyway he would clear it up with Katara later. 

Airis breathed "...So we left the island and we are now headed to the Fire Nation… in fact we should be reaching Fire Nation waters soon. Crap! I gotta go help Sokka!" Airis jerked open the door. "You two get some shut eye. I'll make sure no one bothers you." She sprinted out of the room and shut the door hard, behind her.

The door made a clicking sound and Katara flinched; that meant the door was locked and that they would be stuck in here until Airis came back.

Aang fell back on the bed trying to comprehend what his old friend had just told him. "Okay... so Airis is the Avatar too, the monks just didn't know it." He said staring at the ceiling, moving his arms in differernt directions trying to set up an invisible map.

He continued "And she was stuck in a rock for 95 years and only came out about four years ago. So now she's sixteen, right?"

Katara nodded and layed down beside Aang.

"She knew you guys from before when she was Wataki and she Toph when she was Exia and traveling with a group like ours trying to master earthbending. They died and she moved to the Fire Nation, and mastered firebending. Now she lives on an island between the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation with the last remaining herd of Flying Bison." His arms were now wrapped around his head and waist and his was in a ball shape.

"And since she's a firebending master we're going to the Fire Nation to finish my training, head back to the North Pole for the final attack plans and then coming back here to finish off the war. If she's a master why doesn't she just teach me somewhere else? And then I'll only have to go to the Fire Nation during the invasion." He said untangling himself and laughing at his result.

Katara laughed and turned over to face Aang. "I asked her the same thing, but she said you had to see how the Fire Nation had changed and develop your own perspective on it. It's part of the Avatar process."

Aang turned over to face Katara, "Well, at least there are two Avatars now. Life might get a little easier."

"I hope so" Katara whispered and yawned.

The yawn was contagious and Aang repeated it. He stretched "Good night Katara" he said snuggling deeper into the pillow.

Katara smiled and propped her head up with hand "Night Aang, it's good to have you back. I really missed you"

Aang's grey eyes opened wide "Really?"

Katara remembered her dream the night they had left. It was close but not exactly the same; at least Aang was really awake now.

She nodded "Really." She said leaning in and kissing his forehead.

"I missed you too," Aang said staring into her crystal blue eyes.

Katara smiled "Night Aang" She said turning over and nuzzling into the bed.

"Night Katara" He said as he fell into the pillow.

* * *

Once Aang heard Katara's breath even out and deepen and he was sure that she was asleep. He leaned over and whispered into her ear "I love you, Katara" He kissed her head. Katara moaned in her sleep, nuzzled deeper into the pillows and sighed. 

Aang smiled and propped his head up with his hand and stared at her sleeping form; for what seemed like forever, before giving into the heavy sleep that pounded at his love-struck brain.

All he needed was a little more courage and he would Katara when she was awake. "Just a little more time..." Aang whispered before collasping into the pillow and instantly falling asleep.

AN- Kataang! There it is! I found it :D

By the way everyone's in their season three clothes, if you hadn't guessed by now, so that's what they look like.

I hope this chap was good. Hey, I've got an idea! Just tell me by reviewing!

Please review.

Please? (puts on puppy dog face) Please?


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA

AN- Chap 15! Whoo hoo!! Airis's dark side and a tincy wincy bit of Kataang :)

Enjoy :p I might not be able to post the next chap until sometime next week. Because of a whole bunch of X-mas stuff I'm doing. But during the X-mas holidays I'll be able to update a lot more than normal because I'm spending it with my uncle! And we do nothing...I repeat nothing but goof around, drink dangerous amounts of egg-nog and eat spicy mexican food :P. He is awesome !!!

Anyway here is chapter 15 :) tada!

Chapter 15

The first thing Aang noticed when he woke up was warmth surrounding his chest. He groaned at his stupid body clock. Waking him up at this hour! He tightened his arm around something and nuzzled closer into the silky object pressed against face.

_What the? _He thought as he opened a weary eye. Both eyes opened wide when he realized the warm thing he was snuggling into was Katara, the thing he tightened his arm around was her taught stomach and the silkiness next to his face was her long, beautiful hair.

Some how during the night…well morning, they had moved around, and Katara was pressed against his chest with his arms wrapped protectively around her. Aang blushed and slowly pulled his arm back. As much as he wanted to keep it there and just be surrounded by everything Katara, she would probably kill him if she woke up and found them like that.

Aang propped his head up with his hand and looked down at Katara's sleeping form. His eyes took in every change that had happened to her while he was unconscious. She had changed her hair and she was now dressed in Fire Nation clothes. Ones that show her figure off even more than her usual robes. He looked down at his own clothing. He too was wearing Fire Nation clothes. Red pants and a red vest that was too big and too long for him.

He folded his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling; trying to remember everything that had happened to him last night. He remembered Airis. Yeah, Airis was the Avatar, along with him, for reasons no one knew, and that was actually with him in the 'future'. Airis seemed to have changed a bit from the crazy, lesson avoiding twelve year old girl he had known a hundred years ago.

Aang let out a relieved sigh. It was good to have her back, even though now she was sixteen and had obviously changed. For better or worse Aang couldn't tell yet. But, it would be a lot of fun to have her for a firebending teacher.

Aang smiled to himself and laughed softly. Airis: his firebending teacher! He would have never guessed that in a million years! Literally!

Aang was brought out of his thoughts by Katara yawning and stretching. She turned over and smiled at Aang. "Morning"

Aang sat up on the bed "Morning, he replied cheerfully.

Katara stretched again "Do know what time it is?"

Aang shook his head. "I don't think anyone came in this room ever since Airis left to check up on Sokka."

Katara nodded her head slowly, knowing she was forgetting and then she froze "Crap!" she cursed looking at the door.

Aang cocked his head at Katara.

Katara explained "When Airis left, she locked the door from the outside. We'll have to wait for someone to come get us." She sighed and glared at the door, then looked up at Aang.

As if on cue the door clicked and swung open. They both jerked their heads towards the door.

"Twinkle Toes!" Toph yelled as she jumped onto the bed and caught Aang in a head lock. "You finally woke up!" she said giving him a nuggie.

Sokka jumped out of the door and hugged Aang "Good to see you, buddy! Thank the spirits you're awake! I've been surrounded by chicks for I don't know how long!"

Airis came in and laughed "A week, smart guy, and you seemed to be pretty okay with it on the first night, if I can remember right"

Sokka looked away and blushed slightly. "Well…I…uhh…"

Aang looked at Airis with shock. His jaw unhinged and his eyes twice as big as the norm.

Airis pulled away like she had been bitten by a minksnake. "Gross! No way! He hooked up with Suki that night."

"Hey!" Sokka yelled at Airis, with a wounded ego.

"Anyway!" Airis said, rolling her eyes, changing the subject. "We should be in Fire Nation waters in a few minutes, the blockade of ships will stop and check us. Aang your going to be under the name of Kuzon, he was a friend of yours right?"

Aang nodded. A bit shocked at Airis's grasp as a leader.

"Katara you're Xia, Sokka you're Lee, and Toph you're Jun"

All the people in the room nodded their heads and Airis continued. "You guys are from the colonies and you're with me." Airis tested their new names "Xia, you're a broad swordswoman, Lee, you're a samurai, Jun you have you're shuriken, kunai, and daggers and Kuzon you're my firebending pupil."

"How do know they'll let us pass?" Aang asked lifting up his arm.

Airis looked away "I've been there before and everyone's heard of me. My name there is Fikra, but was nicknamed Phoenix awhile back and now everyone calls me that." Airis sighed "At the mention of my name, grown men get scared. Phoenix is one of the Fire Nation's most feared inhabitants and the most efficient assassins. My rep there is extremely violent."

Aang eye began to twitch as he tried to stomach what he had just heard. Airis: a violent cold blooded killer. Those words couldn't possibly share the same sentence. They just couldn't.

A large honk from the outside world broke the silence in the room and Airis's face hardened. We're here." She said getting up and tossing Aang a shirt. "Aang put this on, the rest of you grab your weapons. Let's go."

Airis opened the door. Sokka adjusted the sword at his hip, Katara picked up her scabbard off the ground and slung it over her shoulder and Toph flicked her wrist and nodded.

Aang threw on his shirt. Somehow, during this, he looked at his hands. Something was different about them. He gasped. His arrows were gone! He searched all over his arms and legs for them. He ran to the mirror and stared at his forehead. All his arrows were gone!

Katara walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Aang, what's wrong?"

He turned around "My tattoos, there gone! The only way to connect me to my people; gone!" He said as he looked at his hands again to make sure.

Katara looked into his eyes "Aang, its okay. Airis just covered them with this weird dirt; like she did with her tattoos. There still there, just covered so no one can see them."

"Oh..." Aang said sadly. He didn't like it, but he could see the sense in it. Then he compared Airis to one hundred years ago Airis. She had had tattoos then, but now they were gone.

"C'mon, let's go" Katara said to the airbender. Aang nodded slowly and let himself be led by the blue eyed teenager.

* * *

They were up there in minutes. Airis moved to the front of the deck and stared at the massive blockade boats. They were easily three times bigger then her ship. 

Katara took her place at Airis's right side, Aang at her left and Toph behind her. Sokka had left the group to steer the ship through the narrow passages.

Katara looked as the massive ships came closer and closer into view. "Those ships are huge."

Airis kept her eyes on the horizon, "Don't let them intimidate you. That's what they're meant for. They're big but, the have huge weak points."

Aang stood unmoving next to Airis and breathed out nervously "The Fire Nation." He said into the wind.

"Time to come back from the dead for the fifth time" Airis sighed regrettably.

Aang looked up at the only other airbender "Fifth time?" he asked.

Airis looked down at the 'younger' Avatar "Yeah fifth. First with Katara and Sokka and the rest of the Southern Water Tribe, second with Toph, third at the abbey, fourth with you and now fifth with the Fire Nation."

Aang cocked his head "They think you're dead?"

Airis turned her attention back to the upcoming ships "They think the Fire Lord had me killed after our Agni-Kai, when I really just left the Fire Nation."

Aang nodded and almost shrunk in fear as the shadow of the massive ships crawled over their ship and over the group.

Airis lifted her arm and singled Sokka to cut the engines. The engines silenced and the boat slowly floated to a stop, the gentle waves causing the boat to rock slightly. The eerie silence filling Aang's ears, and causing his heart to pound as he looked at the men on the other ship and Airis's emotionless face. He shook his head. This wasn't like Airis at all.

"Prepare to be boarded!" A man yelled at the top of a ship. Airis looked up as the boarding plank was brought down from the other ship. Her face showed no weakness as a man dressed up in elaborate amour walked down angrily along with two skull faced soldiers at his side.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!!" he yelled as he stepped up face to face with Airis who he had assumed was the leader.

Airis smirked at his ugly face. He had large side burns and squinty eyes. His voice was loud but it was cracked and broken; as if he had been drinking all night. Airis confirmed her suspicions when she smelled alcohol on his breath. And it did not smell pretty.

"These are Fire Nation waters, what do want?!" he yelled in Airis's face. She didn't flinch or even move. _What is wrong with her!?! _Aang screamed inside his head.

"My name is Phoenix. The Phoenix." Airis said crossing her arms.

The man spat "Don't give that bull shit. Phoenix was killed three years ago, after her fight with the Fire Lord."

"I wasn't killed, I left the Fire Nation."

The man seemed amused "Oh yeah? Prove it." he said crossing his arms.

Airis moved her hand to her left shoulder, which was covered. She hauled up the sleeve and there was a detailed tattoo of a phoenix with its wings spread. She shoved the shoulder into the man's face. "There you go, only I have this tattoo." She said in a harsh, low voice

The man pushed away her shoulder. "Anyone could have gotten that fucking tattoo, get out of the way, you filthy whore, before we sink you're ship and leave you to drown."

Airis smirked at the remark "If the tattoo didn't prove that I'm Phoenix then maybe this will" She said reaching down her skirt and lifted it up slowly.

Then man stared down at her hand and leg, almost drooling. _Sick pervert_ Airis thought as she lifted up the rest of the skirt. The man jumped back in horror. Airis smirked. Aang managed to lean over a bit and catch a glimpse of what was on her leg.

There, on the top of her leg near her thigh, was a large disgusting scar. It was a deep red in the center where the fire had hit the most intensely and the rest of it was a lighter red. Only two colours; but it was the trademark burn scars of Fire Lord Ozai.

The man stared at the scar in fear. This was really Phoenix! "It is you!!" he said his voice shaking and full of fear.

Airis took advantage of the man's large pause and summoned two large fire whips. She swept the soldiers tailing him off the boat, and then grabbed the man by the throat, with her lit hand. She lifted him off the ground and brought him closer to her face. His heavy hands flew to her lighter single hand, trying to get her to let go. But, the more he tried, the more Airis squeezed. She smirked into his face. The stench of slowly burning skin filled the air and the man let out a strangled cry of pain.

"You seem to know me well enough to know that your entire fleet would not last long under my attack. Now let me pass so I can return to my homeland, if you don't, you will experience first hand my wrath and we don't want that now do we?"

The man gargled, his face turning blue from lack of air and his eyes were bulging from fire pressed against the soft flesh of his neck. He managed to shake his head.

Airis smiled "Good. Now will you let us pass?"

When he didn't respond she squeezed his neck harder, the terrible smell getting stronger and the pained look on his face getting more desperate and desperate by the second. "I won't ask again." She said sternly, her voice full of cruel promises.

He nodded his head quickly.

Airis smiled again "Good," she said throwing him to the ground, his gasped for air and cried out in pain as his hand reached his neck. "Nice meeting you" She whispered harshly as he ran back up to his ship, tripping and falling on his face several times. Each time he looked back his eyes were ripped with fear.

Airis lifted her hand to signal Sokka to start the ship again. The engine roared and the ship began to move again. The men collected at the railings to see Airis. Their eyes filled with fear for the teenage girl.

Airis stared ahead, her face blank; not even taking note of the soldiers huddled at the railings trying to get a glimpse of her. The straight route to the capital was right there; a single large river.

Airis grinned as they entered the river's mouth; so far everything was going great for them. Airis turned around and headed back up to the helm to discuss what had just happened with the rest of the group. Which was surely going to be a big bucket of fun!

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Aang yelled at Airis as they entered the room. 

Toph sat down on the bed "I think she did pretty good. A little harsh, but still pretty good. What did you do to make them get so scared of you?"

Airis sighed and leaned against the metal wall. "I didn't mean to get such a terrible rep. I was thirteen and I couldn't handle always keeping my calm around men all the time. I joined an underground fighting tournament. There my name was Red Death. I would never kill my opponent but just wound them terribly, so they would still heal but always remember me. That's how I let my anger and frustration out."

Airis sighed and looked away "It was a stupid way, but I didn't know what else to do. You guys... you guys have each other to hold onto, but me..." She laughed "Me I had no one. They eventually found out that Red Death was also Phoenix. And the Fire Lord hired me as his personal assassin. I accepted it to get closer to him, to finally kill that son of a bitch! But, I also worked for the Fire Nation court. Anyone who wanted anyone wanted to be dealt away with had to come to me. They paid me and the person they asked me to get rid of was never heard from again. It's the most dishonourable part of my past."

Aang couldn't believe what he was hearing. He walked up to Airis and stared her in the face. "The Airis I knew would never do that!"

Airis glared him in the eyes. "People change, Aang. My friends were killed by the Fire Nation! Right in front of me! Gone! Dead! Never coming back! What do you think you would do if Katara, Toph and Sokka were killed right in front of you?! Huh?!"

Aang looked away and glared at the corner.

Airis answered for him "You wouldn't think straight! You would do everything in your power to bring them back. But no, you couldn't, they would be gone forever. How would you feel?"

Aang didn't answer.

"Confused! You would have no idea what to do ore were to go! Maybe if one of them had survived maybe things would have been clearer and things would have turned out better. But NO the universe doesn't work like that. I did what I did and I can't change that fact. In the Fire Nation, I'm violent. You guys will find your own reps there too."

Aang finally met Airis's gaze. His eyes were full of hurt, sadness, and fear of what might become. He was about to say something, but he didn't bother. He glared at Airis and turned around and faced Katara; who reached out to comfort him, but Aang moved out of her grasp.

He looked back at Airis. They held their gaze there for a moment, staring each other down, until Aang pulled away and left the room; slamming the door.

Airis let go of a breathe and let herself fall to her knees. She looked at her hands. "What the hell did I just do?"

Katara looked away and stared longingly at the door, her hands grabbing at the sheets of the bed.

Toph sat up and stretched. "I believe you just pushed him away, Crazy, and what a great job you did of it, too."

"Thanks Toph," Airis scoffed, getting up.

"I gotta go find him, Katara you coming?" Airis asked as she opened the door.

Katara looked down at her lap "I don't think he wants to talk right now."

Airis sighed, pressing her forehead against the metal frame of the door. "I'm gonna go find him, not talk to him. We're in the Fire Nation right now. There is a mountain of stupid things he can do here to get himself killed."

Katara looked up "okay" she said softly getting off the bed.

"You guys do that" Toph said squeezing past Airis. "I'm gonna go find some grub."

Katara sighed and followed Airis down the hallways. The two girls soon split up to cover more ground.

* * *

Captain Chong touched the bandage around his freshly burned neck and winced in pain. His crew swarmed around him trying to help the wounded man. 

"Leave!" He ordered; he had had enough.

The crew silenced and went back to their duties.

"Koni! Get me a messenger hawk!" Chong ordered. A young man soon appeared with one of the majestic red birds. Chong grabbed the bird and scribbled down some words. He shoved the message into the bird's carrying case and sent it off.

"Phoenix is back. The Fire Lord will not be pleased. I pity the fool who didn't finish his job and end her. That bitch will pay!" He mumbled under his breath, rubbing his neck as he watched the bird fly toward the nation's capital.

* * *

Katara skidded down the hallway. _Nope_. She continued to run her breathes getting more laboured. She checked another hallway. _NO!!_ Katara panicked. She couldn't find Aang! She continued to run down the labyrinth of hallways searching for the airbender. She had been looking for almost an hour and she still hadn't found him. 

She turned a corner and ran right into Airis; an airbender yes, but the wrong one. The both of them went flying back. Airis groaned and rubbed the back of her head "Whoa, where's the fire?" her voice as calm as usual.

Katara eyes lit up for a minute. "Did you find Aang?" She asked, her voice full of hope.

Airis sat up slowly and shook her head. She really wished she had found him though.

Katara sat up and sighed.

Airis walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Katara it's late. Go to bed I'm gonna keep looking. When I find him I'll send him right down to you guys room, kay"

Katara stared at the floor beneath her. She knew fighting with Airis was wasting energy. Katara looked up and stared Airis right in the eye.

"Fine, but the moment you find him you send him down, alright." Katara said pointing at the airbender.

Airis nodded and Katara slowly turned around and headed back to her chambers.

Airis smirked and crossed her arms. _She has got it so bad for him._

_Kinda reminds you of-_

_Shut up!_

_What? Miss me? _

_You wish!_

_You know you've been in the exact same position as Katara. Maybe you should help her out._

_I am! ... Wait a minute! Since when have you been that close to being nice to me?_

_Call it a peace offering._

_What have you got up your sleeve!?_

_Nothing…_

_Yeah right!_

_Alright! You'll see when we get to the capital._

Airis was about to object to her subconscious, when and long exasperated sigh entered her mind.

_That wasn't me _Her subconscious told her.

Airis perked up. _That was Aang!_

_Well then trace it back to him, damn it!_

_I can't with you in the way!_

_Fine! I'll leave!_

Airis closed her eyes and exhaled. She concentrated on Aang and the sigh he had involuntarily sent to her mind.

Airis smiled she knew exactly where he was. She mentally kicked herself for not thinking about it earlier. She ran down the hallways, thinking of what she'd say when she saw him and prayed that she wouldn't screw it up more.

* * *

Aang sat on the top of the ship. His legs pulled against his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs keeping them warm in the cold night air. The crisp wind ruffled his hair and calmed his spirits; if only a little. 

He was still beating himself up for walking out on Airis and Katara. But, he couldn't stand it anymore; Airis's words were from experience, an experience he never wanted to have. The thing that scared him was that Airis and her friends had been as tight as him and the Gaang. She didn't want her friends to die, but they did and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Aang pulled his legs closer to his chest, his eyes glued on the river in front of him, he had no idea what it was called, but it looked like any other river he had been on. The stars sparkled on it and the small waves on the river beating against the side of the ship were soothing.

He nuzzled into his pants; keeping his nose warm. Katara still had no idea of what she meant to him. He loved her. He couldn't live without. He couldn't even imagine life without her now. But she was the one stopping him from reaching his true potential; stopping him from controlling the massive, frightening power inside him. And it was his experience with burning her that made him hesitate to learn firebending.

He sighed and looked up at the star filled sky. He looked to the banks of the river. They were dotted with houses all had little fires lit in the front, causing the banks to look like they were covered in huge fireflies.

He heard the clank of boots on metal behind him and he jumped into a fighting stance. "What do you want?" he asked the person.

Airis poked her head over the side of the railing. "Hey, take it easy, don't go all glowy on me" She said a slight attempt at a joke in her words.

Aang slumped back down as Airis climbed over the rest of the railing. She sat down beside him.

"I knew I'd find you up here" She said pushing her thick braid to the side.

Aang ignored her and continued to stare blankly out over the river. "I'm sorry, for walking out on you, Toph, and Katara earlier. I should have tried to understand your perspective. But it seemed so real, it just scared me."

Airis looked over the river in front of them; his solemn attitude contagious. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, it wasn't my place to dump all that on your shoulders"

Aang didn't answer and moved his gaze to the stars above them. Airis copied him and sighed into the cool night air. She smiled, looked back down Aang and put an arm around him. "You've changed too, you know."

Aang took his gaze off the cosmos and stared at Airis. "Huh?"

Airis met his eyes "The Aang I knew would never have said that. You've gotten a heck of a lot smarter since we last saw each other. You know a hundred years ago."

Aang leaned into her side; seeking his friend's comfort "Thanks, you too" he said softly

"Umm… thanks?" Airis laughed gently. She sighed "I missed you, Aang." Airis said kissing the top of his head.

"I missed you too" Aang said hugging Airis. It was really good to have his old friend back. He somehow felt as though he needed her right now.

* * *

Airis and Aang layed on their backs talking about the old world, how things had changed and how they had changed, as they watched the diamond stars in the black silk sky take their regular eons to pass by. Airis rolled over on her stomach and stared at Aang. 

"You ever firebend before?" She asked the young Avatar.

The massive boat groaned and Aang turned away from Airis "Yeah"

Airis sat up "There's a story behind that 'yeah'" She pushed.

Aang sat up too, and sighed. "During our travels in the Earth Kingdom on our way to the North Pole, we met this band of deserters. Their leader Jeong Jeong was told by Roku to teach me firebending. I became inpatient with him and started to firebend when I was supposed to be breathing and concentrating. I lost control of my fire and burned Katara. She healed herself and forgave me, but I've never been able to completely forgive myself."

Airis went over what Aang had told her "Huh?" she pondered, leaning back on her arms "Well, pretty bad first start at firebending, but still not as bad as mine."

Aang looked her hard in the eye "Really? Then please do tell"

Airis smiled mischievously "Well like you my first start with firebending was with Jeong Jeong-"

"Really!" Aang interrupted.

Airis nodded "Yep, I was learning it with Faikai, while I was finishing up earthbending with Eema. Anyway one day after Faikai and I finished our breathing practises with Jeong Jeong, we went to find Eema who was supposed to help me with earthbending stuff. Guess where we found her!"

Aang shrugged

"Making out with Watomm in the woods! It was like the hundredth time me and Faikai had found them like that. So we decided to play a trick on them. I ended up firebending in the prank and things didn't turn out pretty."

Aang's eyes widened "Did you hurt them?"

Airis looked at Aang with an embarrassed smile crawling over her face. "No" her voice had shrunk.

"Well, what happened then?" Aang asked

"I screwed up okay and I…I ended up blowing up an ostrich-horse. I don't know how, but I did." Airis said her cheeks covered in red.

Aang became sullen "Poor ostrich-horse…" He smirked; that was it; he couldn't hold it in any longer. He fell over laughing "You blew up an ostrich horse!" he said through laughs and gasps for breath.

"Hey" Airis said trying to sound offended. "That's not funny!" She said laughing herself.

Once the laughing died down Airis pulled Aang over to her and gave him a nuggie.

"Hey!" Aang said trying to squeeze out of her arms. "You're gonna make all my hair fall out!"

Airis laughed and let him go. She looked at the sky; it was nearly dawn. The black velvet sky was beginning to fade in the east, calling up the sun. Airis sighed. They would be at the capital soon.

"Oh Shit!" Airis cursed as she realized something.

"What?" Aang said standing up beside her.

"I promised Katara, I'd send you down to the room as soon as I found you. She's going to kill me!"

Aang smiled from ear to ear. _Katara wanted to see me last night!_

_That doesn't mean she loves you, Mr. Avatar!_

_I know, but it's a start._

_You are way too optimistic_

"C'mon she might still be asleep and we can sneak you in the room before she wakes up!" Airis said grabbing his arm and hauling him over the railing.

* * *

After being dragged by Airis for ten or so minutes they ended up in front of the room. 

"A piece of advice: stay quiet. I got to go see Sokka. Good luck, _**lover boy**_!" She said as she ran around a corner.

Aang stared after her wide eyed and blushing. _How does she know!? _

Aang took a deep breath, knowing Airis, she would probably do everything in her power to get them two together, now that she knew about it. Aang smiled. Man, was he was ever glad that she was on his side.

Aang slowly opened the metal door. He poked his head through to see if Katara was up yet or still sleeping. He saw a lump in the red sheets and he heard low, even breathing.

He slipped through the doorway silently to make sure he didn't wake Katara. He closed it gently behind him.

Slowly he made his way to the bed. He sat down, checking her face. He took off his shirt and pulled the covers over his bandaged chest.

He turned over in the bed to look at Katara. She looked so peaceful when she slept. Her chest slowly rising and falling with her breathes. He sighed; taking in everything about her, her beautiful brown hair; cascading around her, like a waterfall. Her soft mocha skin, the only one he ached to touch, was almost completely hidden by blankets and clothes. Though the skin he could see almost seemed to beg him to run his lips across it. Her hair almost called to him for him to tangle his hand in the mass of brown curls. Her lips, her beautiful full lips, were dancing with each breath, teasing him and calling to him to come and take them.

Aang sighed, no matter how much he wanted to lose himself in Katara, he couldn't. He would wait until he finally told her 'I love you' and she accepted him. She would and he would wait for as long as it took.

Aang turned over, facing the wall. Wondering if they would ever really be together.

He fell asleep not even knowing, that, only hours before, the person resting right next to him, had thought the exact same thing.

* * *

Airis held her breath, leaning against the cold metal door. When she finally heard him fall to sleep, a smile grew on her face. She had 'heard' everything. _He has got it so bad! I have to help him! _She said clapping her hands together softly. 

Airis muffled her giggles as she round the corner again; this time really heading to the helm.

* * *

A large hawk flew over the walls surrounding the thriving capital. It soared over the peasant houses and through the middle class market. The bird finally saws its destination; he cawed and flew up the side of a towering hill. 

The bird landed gracefully on the messenger platform in the Royal Palace. It cawed again and the guard who had been sleeping a second earlier, stood up scratching his enlarged hairy stomach and belching. He grabbed the bird by the legs and hauled out the message in the carrier case.

He tossed the bird into one of the cramped cages and called for a messenger boy to deliver it to its receiver.

The boy came in slowly; shaking under the malicious gaze of the large man. He threatened the boy not to screw up the letter and threw him out the door.

The boy scrambled through the elaborate halls of the Fire Lords palace. Once he reached a large door, with gold flames and a painting of Fire Lord Ozai. He kneeled down deeply to the Special Red Guards protecting the Fire Lords main hall. One of the soldiers grabbed the letter and sent the boy away with a kick in the gut and some harsh words.

The rest of the guards opened the massive door and the soldier marched in slowly, kneeling down once he reached the centre of the hall.

The soldier then moved up and placed the letter on a red silk pillow in from of the Fire Lord.

As the Fire Lord picked up the letter, the soldier said "It's from the Western blockade, my Lord, from Captain Chong"

The Fire Lord signalled for the man to leave and the soldier left bowing.

Ozai ripped open the letter. His eyes tearing over the words like the fire he ruled over. His eyes grew wider with each word and once he read the words 'Phoenix is back' he burnt the letter to a pile of ashes in front of him and the wall of flames in front of him grew tall.

His hand involuntarily went to the back of his neck; that was forever hidden by his long hair. He felt the deformed skin their, where she had burned him and permanently marked him to a promise. Ozai seethed in anger, only he and Phoenix knew the true outcome of that battle. He would have to play his cards carefully around her. One wrong move… and the Fire Nation would be swept into her hands and all he and his ancestors had worked so hard for would be gone…put into the hands of a teenager.

She was a smart little piece of shit; he'd give her that, too smart to even try anything on or around her. Ozai breathed out a blast of fire. The only smart thing to do now was to wait; wait for her to leave or to do something stupid. And since the second one was highly unlikely. He'd be forced to ignore the little bitch for as long as she was here. Damn it! Things couldn't get worse.

So far he had to welcome back Zuko and Azula for conquering the Earth Kingdom. He knew it was really Azula that did all the work. Zuko was just as weak as Ursa. He had been amazed that she had actually been able to produce the prodigy that was Azula. But, the only son she had given him was a weakling; useless. The only reason he welcomed him back was that he killed the Avatar and showed that he may actually have something useful in him. Ozai would just have to rot his mind more and push him harder.

But he knew that Zuko would never measure up to the standards and that he was as miserable a little shit as Phoenix; a thorn in his ass ever since he first layed eyes on the both of them.

He wondered what kind of retarded, fucked up, and fool proof plans Phoenix had up her sleeve. She would only come back for a good reason and he would find it and exploit it. He smirked; all he needed was patience.

The Fire Lord looked up just in time to see some of his advisers enter the room.

"My Lord, what is it?" One of the old men asked cautiously.

Ozai's hands formed fists and through his clenched teeth he managed a smooth, irritated, perfectly executed "It's Phoenix, she's back."

AN- Okay, there's chap fifteen. Ozai knows Airis is coming, Kataang is slowly moving forward and Airis and Aang are getting closer... but then again Airis wants to hook them up with each other... So no worries :)

Hope you all liked this chap :)

Please review! It helps a ton with my confidence (which is slowly draining for no apparent reason)

So please, please, PLEASE REVIEW!! (small voice) please?

Loving all the reviews :D


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA

AN- I am sooo sorry I didn't update in awhile. But all of the X-mas stuff is done (except for X-mas, duh:P) and I'm all settled in at my uncles right now, with unlimted access to the internet. Yes!

I hope I can update soon, and well...blah blah blah all that stuff :P

So here's the next chap.Yay! enjoy :D

Chapter 16

"We're here! Get your lazy butts out of bed! " was the first thing Katara heard when she woke up. She shot up in her bed just in time to catch a pack sack full of clothes and other things that had been thrown at her.

Aang shot up out of bed beside her; in time to catch a pack sack of his own. _So Airis did send him down. It just took awhile for her to find him._ Katara thought as Aang jumped outa bed.

"What's going on?" He said wiping the sleep from his eyes.

Airis walked through the door way as Katara stood up. Airis was dressed in red baggy pants, tall black boots and a red shirt like Katara's. "C'mon get your stuff and let's go!" She said cheerfully "We're not coming back to this ship for a long time."

Aang pulled on a shirt. "We're in the Fire Nation?" He asked slinging the bag onto his shoulder.

"Yep, Katara grab your broad swords and let's move. The less we're in sight the less questions we'll be asked."

Katara attached her swords to her hip and followed Aang and Airis out the door; shifting her own little package of personal stuff onto her shoulder.

They met Sokka and Toph on the deck. Sokka had his own overfilled bag of stuff and Toph had nothing but clothes in her bag. Sokka's hair had grown in a bit; making his new hair style look a lot better. And Momo was wrapped around Toph's neck, staring at everyone randomly and chittering every now and again.

Katara looked over the busy docks. Everyone was doing something, whether it was anything from shopping to hauling in fish and other cargo. If almost all the buildings hadn't been painted red and gold. Katara would have guessed it was just a successful Earth Kingdom town.

Katara looked farther on the horizon. She could see a massive city, on the top of a large hill, surrounded by a small wall and the remnants of a dormant volcano. At the centre of the walled city was a large palace. _The Fire Lord's Palace._ Katara swallowed.

Airis stretched. "Well it hasn't changed much in three years I can tell you that; looks almost exactly like it was when I left."

Airis looked at her companions. "Ready to head up to my place?"

Aang scrunched his face up "You have a house here?"

Airis laughed "Were else would I bring you guys? To live in a cave with nothing to eat but cave-hoppers? C'mon let's go" she said waving towards the pinned up gang plank.

Sokka helped her put it in place and secure it. They all turned the docks and breathed nervously, except for Toph and Airis.

Airis turned around and smiled at them "Don't worry it won't be so bad. It's a pretty nice place once you get past the evil Fire Nation stuff. C'mon let's go!" She said walking down the plank.

Sokka checked his sword and followed her along with Toph. Katara and Aang looked a teach other and sighed nervously before following the airbender down the plank.

Airis smiled as they reached solid ground. "See that wasn't so bad was it?"

Sokka scoffed "Piece a cake! Come and get me Fire Na-" Sokka was cut off by Airis hand.

"Hey!" He said tearing her hand of his mouth.

"You're Fire Nation now, Lee!" Airis stressed.

"Oh right!" Sokka said rubbing the back of his neck. "My bad"

Airis smiled and continued to walk down through the docks.

Katara looked around the market place. There was pretty well everything you needed here; from clothes to food to animals.

Katara watched the people go by their daily routines. A woman with two children clinging to her skirt caught her eye. One of children turned around and stared at the Gaang. He was about 8 or 10 years old. Suddenly his face lit up and he began to squeal and tug on his mother's skirt. She shooed him away and continued her shopping. The little boy, both annoyed and exited, grabbed his younger sibling and raced toward the Gaang.

"Phoenix! Phoenix!" The boy yelled as he made his way through the crowds. His younger sibling, a girl, was letting him haul her around while she was sucking her thumb on her free hand.

Airis turned around just in time to grab the boy as he flew into her arms. The boy hugged her as hard as he could and his sister had a monster grip on her leg.

The little boy pulled back and looked Airis in the face. "You're alive! You're alive! I knew you weren't dead! I knew it! You were too good for anyone to kill! You would've killed them instead!"

Airis smiled "Ping! I missed ya little buddy!" She said hugging him again. "By the way, Ping, these are my new friends, Lee, Kuzon, Jun and Xia."

The little boy smiled from ear to ear. "Whoa! You guys must be really good to be in her gang!"

Aang cocked his head at the kid. "huh?"

Airis laughed put the boy down. "How's you're mom and sister, Ping?"

"Hewo, I'm wight herwe" A little girl, about six, said hugging her leg tighter.

Airis crouched down and ruffled the little girl's hair. "I see you've gotten a lot bigger, Narata, you too Ping."

The little boy puffed out his chest "I been practising my firebending"

Airis laughed and ruffled the boy's hair.

"MY CHILDREN!" The shrill yell of the woman came over the voices of the crowd. A gap appeared between Airis, Ping, Narata and their mother. Apparently she had just realized her children had run away from her.

"My children!" She yelled again "Guards, guards! Arrest her! She has my children!"

"Uh-oh" The boy and his sister said together.

Katara looked up from Airis and the sibling's to see a swarm of red clad soldiers run towards the group.

Katara was about to pull out her swords, but Airis stopped her, still crouching down, Airis kept her face hidden from everyone. "Don't, I have an idea"

Katara trusted the Nomad and stood down as the mass of soldiers gathered in front of Airis.

"Stand up and let the kids go, bitch!" said one of the soldiers with his spear at her throat. Airis smirked, but kept her face hidden. She gently pushed the kids behind her and towards Katara.

"Give us the kids and nobody gets hurt, whore!" one of them said jabbing his spear at her throat.

Airis slowly stood, and even more slowly revealed her face. "Now boys, don't you know more then to talk like that in front of kids"

All the soldiers studied her face for a moment and backed up slowly. Their eyes were wide and they began to shake. _At least it didn't take much for these guys to recognize me! _Airis thought smirking inwardly.

"Miss me?" Airis said cocking her head.

"You're alive!" said one

"You supposed to be dead!"

"Yeah, but I'm not." Airis said slowly waking towards the soldiers; her tone of voice eerily resembling Azula. "I just left the Fire Nation for awhile. Now I'm back" She said circling the group of men like a wolf.

Katara could hear their armour clanking against each other nervously, Toph could actually feel the men coming closer and closer to a nervous breakdown, and Aang just stared as one of his oldest friends was scaring the living shit out of Fire Nation soldiers by just talking to them.

"So how have things changed since I've been gone? Huh?" Airis said leaning into the group of men. The men backed away instantly. Airis laughed.

She walked up to one of them and smiled at Gaang _Watch this! _She sent to their minds as she softly said "boo" to the petrified men.

"ATTACK!!" The leader screamed automatically. The men all went for her shooting their spears, slicing their swords or shooting fireballs at her. Airis smirked and jumped back. She made a small kick that resulted in a giant fire wave toward the soldiers.

The firebenders broke through the wall; punching fireballs at her. Airis evaded all of them and jumped into the centre of the group of soldiers.

Katara and Aang jolted to try and help her but Airis put up her hand "No! This is my fight. Don't worry I can take them." The men surrounded her and pointed their spears toward her. Airis smirked and got into a stance.

The little boy and girl hugging Katara's legs smiled "She's going to kill you!" They said in sing-song voices.

Katara looked down in shock at the two children. Fire Nation children were way more violent than Water Tribe kids. Katara hadn't even none the real meaning of kill and death until the Fire Nation raid her village six years ago.

Airis smirked at the Fire Nation sibling's "No, I won't kill them. That would take all the fun out of it." She said calmly.She easily summoning a large fire dragon and coiling the fire reptile around her. The beast looked over the group of men surrounding him and his creator. The dragon swung his head and spit out humongous, powerful flames at the men. The bendingless soldiers ran away as fast as they could, the firebenders, though stayed put.

Airis swung the dragon around and used it to slam the firebenders into a nearby building. The dragon disappeared. And as the soldiers tried to get up, Airis created a huge wall of fire around her and her opponents. She sent wave after wave of fire at them; pushing them harder and harder against the wall.

Soon their armour was full of burn marks and completely useless and defenceless against her attacks. Airis shook her head, stopped her bending and left them men as they were. She walked calmly back to the group as if nothing had happened. Ping finally realised Katara's leg to jump into Airis's arms. "That was AMAZING Phoenix! How you did that fire wave and all the soldiers went 'aaahhh!' but you were like 'no way are you beating me' and that dragon was awesome!"

Airis laughed and whispered into the little guy's ear. "I think your mom might be a little worried about you right now"

The boy jumped out of her arms and grabbed his sister. "Right!" he said saluting Airis "I'll see you later!"

"Bye" Narata said softly, letting Ping drag her off to their mother.

Airis smiled and looked at the children run to their mother. Ping almost ran into her and began hopping in place his sister hopping beside him, just to copy her older brother. "Mother! Mother! Phoenix is back! She's back!"

Their mother; ignored her children, and stared at Airis with her jaw unhooked. Airis waved and smiled at the small family. The mother shook her head and hauled her children away somewhere; scolding them. Ping managed to turn around and wave goodbye to Airis as his mother frowned and pulled him around a corner.

Airis sighed and stretched. "It's good to be back!" She turned around to see the rest of the group gawking at her.

"What?" she asked shrugging, playing innocent.

Toph was the first to talk "That. Was. Awesome!" She said punching the air with her fist; Momo jolted a bit at her outburst and clung tighter to her neck, chittering at her angrily and shaking his tiny fist-paw at Toph's unresponsive face.

Airis looked around at the many civilians staring at her. She shook her head "That attracted attention. We'd better high tail it up to my place." Airis said jerking her thumb up at a hill at the far end of the city. There were barley any houses on it and only one of them actually had smoke coming out of the chimney.

Katara gave one last look around the Fire Nation docks and nodded her head, quickly.

Airis smiled and turned in the direction towards her place. "Let's go then, shall we?" Airis fell back in step with Aang and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Aang looked up at the other Avatar and smiled. Airis returned it "Welcome to the Fire Nation little buddy!" She said shaking his shoulders a bit.

Aang laughed. Whatever they were going to be doing here, as long as Airis was around, he was sure that he wasn't going to be bored. And with Katara and his two best friends right beside the whole way too; He guessed that being in the Fire Nation for a couple o weeks wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Making their way through the Fire Nations streets wasn't as bad as Katara had thought. Everything wasn't all violence and cold blooded killing, like what they brought to the battle field. It felt as though it was just like any other Earth Kingdom city they had been to. It felt a little uncomfortable walking around the capital of their enemy nation as if they had lived there all their lives. But after awhile the awkwardness left and was replaced by a casual feeling that was radiating off of Airis, but once Aang caught it, it was contagious. Katara couldn't help feeling relaxed; even though a part of her still felt insecure. 

_What if somebody recognizes us_? Katara asked herself as she looked at all the different shops and people. Most of them seemed like family people, just trying to get by and ride out the war. Not really caring which way it went; as long as their family returned safely.

Katara sighed and looked back at her group. Sokka had already bought something; a bag. He said it matched his outfit and that he had to by it. _First the bag and belt matching now bag and outfit matching! What is wrong with him?_

Airis was at the front of the group, leading the way with a confident step like she always had. Aang was not far behind her and Toph was next to her; walking in step with Sokka, with Momo perched on her shoulder and his tail wrapped around her neck.

Now and again people would stop and stare at Airis whispering words like 'Phoenix' 'She's supposed to be dead' and 'What is she doing back here?' These whispers and points had no apparent affect on Airis. Her step didn't falter and the 'mask' she wore had a permanent confident smirk on it.

A few times some small children like Ping and his sister, would pull away from their parents, run over to Airis and give her a hug. She, in turn, would ruffle their hair and send them back to their parents who were too scared of her to go and get come and get their children.

_They have no idea what life is really like._ Katara sighed as she watched a little girl run back to her mother and squeal in excitement. Children had no real fear. They had not been taught it yet. Katara remembered what her father had told her about her younger days when she would walk up to any random person and ask them insane question after insane question. Kids had it so easy and they didn't even know it yet.

Katara looked at Airis and Aang. Both of them had pulled out of their child hood to become the savers of the world in the blink of eye, Katara could never imagine anything like that.

_Hello!? You were too! _Her inner self popped up.

_When? _Katara asked

_When mom died. It was you took over her roll after she died. You became mom to take care of Sokka and dad and to try and fill the void she had left in everybody. Just like Aang and Airis, you were ripped out of your childhood to take care of people. They know your pain._

Katara looked at the two Avatars. Just by looking at them, you would have never guessed that they were the last remaining people of their nation. They hid that pain behind masks of positive attitude and inner strength.

Katara shook her head; no, those weren't masks. They were the natural attitudes, plain and simple. They had that pain but they pushed past it, to find new things and a brighter future.

Katara smiled, if they all pushed hard for the next couple of weeks, everyone in the whole world would have a brighter future. Katara still couldn't believe all this pressure was on her and the shoulders of only four other people.

* * *

It was noon by the time they finally reached Airis's place. Katara had no idea how far the place really was from the docks and the hot Fire Nation sun beating on her back was just more proof of how wrong she'd been. 

Sokka wiped his forehead "When are we gonna be there?" He complained for the millionth time.

Airis turned around swiftly; apparently the sun had no real affect on her besides a little sweat, and moved her hand toward the house behind her. "Tada! Here we are! My house" Airis said going towards the door.

Aang lifted his head and looked up at the house. It was looked pretty big and it was painted red and gold. The roof on the top was flatish and you could have walked all around the place on it. The entire place was surrounded by brush and some vines had managed to climb the walls, a couple of trees stood at each corner of the house.

Aang looked at the windows and doors. The place had obviously been abandoned, dust and cobwebs were collected in the windows and shutters, the sides of the house had large cracks in them and paint was chipping off here and there.

Airis laughed nervously "I know, I know it needs a bit of fixing up but it's been abandoned and uninhabited for three years." She said opening the red door. She had to force it, but it eventually creaked opened.

Katara, Aang, and Sokka peaked through behind Airis. The place was covered in an inch of dust and there were plants growing in places they never thought a plant could grow, but besides that, to their surprise, everything seemed pretty well intact. Even a short wooden table that marked the entryway for the kitchen was only covered in dust.

"Don't go in there!" A frail voice warned from behind the group. They turned to see a little old man who was leaning on weird looking cane and squinting at them trying to get a better look at them.

The man continued "Legend says a few years ago, a phoenix transformed herself into the body of child, to learn the ways of our nation and to try and better it. She was able to keep her disguise for a long time. Evading the Fire Lord with every step she took. And not long after she became the Fire Lords right hand warrior. But one day she was forced to see the man she loved burned at the hand of the Fire Lord. She became so enraged that she left her human form and became her true phoenix form. She fought the Fire Lord. But she eventually lost. She flew away before she was killed by his hand. She managed to hide away in the Fire Nation to help heal her love and then she was torn away from him and to avoid being killed once more she flew all the way to the sun and let it swallow her so she could always see her love."

Katara cocked her head. _That story sounds awfully familiar…_She thought looking at Airis; who had her arms crossed and was showing a small smile, almost unnoticeable, but still a smile.

The old man lifted his cane at the house. "She lived here and it said that at night she flies down from the sun and takes up human form here. A single light glows in the kitchen; it's her, holding up a flame waiting for her love to come find her. She still lives here! Beware and step carefully or you will feel the burning wrath of the phoenix."

The old man limped away down the road saying "Stay out of the house…burning wrath…phoenix…"

Toph straightened up "Well that was a weird story" She said kicking a rock by her feet.

Sokka laughed "Ha! Who believes in that kinda crap? A phoenix; swallowed by the sun, haunting this place, waiting for her love. Yeah, right!"

Airis smirked "I didn't think it would go that far… I mean, really, a phoenix, that came here to help restore balance to the Fire Nation? Where the heck did that come from?"

"Yeah!" Sokka said still laughing "Wait, you said what now?"

Airis nodded and finished opening the door. "hmm? Nothing" She said sweeping off a bit of dust that had fallen over her head in the entry way. "You guys coming inside?"

"You did said something!" Sokka said not backing down.

Airis sighed "I've heard about the story. Wasn't that far when I last heard it. That's it all I know" She said checking out around the kitchen. Nothing seemed broken.

"Everyone hold on to something that is attached to the house and close your eyes." Airis said getting into an airbending stance.

Aang and Katara grabbed onto a window ledge. "What are you doing?" Aang asked as Airis created a blast of wind all around her; sending all the dust flying out the windows. When Aang opened his eyes again, the place was clear of dirt and even the plants had been uprooted and sent outside.

Aang let go of the ledge and flattened down his suddenly spiked up hair. "What are you doing? What if somebody saw you?"

Airis shrugged "One: Nobody can see airbending and Two: We're inside a house, so no one can see us"

Aang smacked his forehead and dragged it down his face. _Yep, she's still Airis alright._ He groaned inside his head.

Airis laughed. "I know you hate me!" She said cheerfully. "C'mon let's go clean up the rest of the house. You'll never what sort of crap will pop up here. I bet I won't even remember half my stuff!"

"If the rest of the house is as bad as your room at the island …I'm living in the kitchen" Toph said as Momo flew off her shoulder and on to Aang's.

* * *

After cleaning several other rooms with some quick airbending, Airis ended up in front of a simple red wood door, with the Fire Nation insignia on it; her old room. Airis breathed out nervously. She had no idea what she would find in here. After she had been separated from her boyfriend she had left immediately, not bringing anything with her but her stolen boat with a cargo full of clothes. She had left the house exactly how it was, for three years. It had remained untouched thanks to the ghost stories. Her room had to be the same. 

Airis exhaled and pushed open the door. She sighed at her room. It was, like all the others, covered in dust. Her bed was still unmade from the day she had fought the Fire Lord. She walked over to her desk. It was covered in old yellowing papers and ink. A small black box with a heart imprinted on in caught her eye. She didn't remember this. She picked it up and sat down in the bed.

She stared down at the box for awhile, and finally opened it. She took one glimpse of the inside and remembered everything, her heart fell and her eyes lowered. Inside, sitting on a small red silk pillow, was a necklace. A choker, made up of a black fabric and a single pendant; a heart made of red wood. Airis stared down at the necklace longingly. He had carved it for her, she smiled, the heart wasn't perfect, in fact it was a bit lumpy on one side, but Airis had loved it. She remembered what the days had been like when they had been together. Simple, and a routine, and yet every single one had its own special memories.

She placed the neckalce lovingly back into the box, she closed it and sighed; she couldn't think about it anymore. He knew her real name, yes, but he didn't know who she really was. She had had to lie to him and it nearly killed her. In fact, three years later it was still chewing at her soul.

She had to stop thinking about him, he was part of her old life; her life as Phoenix. Now she had a new life with Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph, as Airis. She sat up and put the box away in a drawer. Some things were just better left forgotten.

But some things just couldn't be forgotten.

* * *

Aang finished cleaning out a couple of rooms and looked down the hallway. There seemed to be no more rooms. _Finally!_ He dusted off his pants. _I wonder where Katara went. _He thought as he walked down the hallway. 

There were not many paintings on the wall. If there were any it was of scenery. There was not one portrait on the walls. Air Nomads had always loved painting and they loved painting portraits almost as much.

Aang shrugged it off and walked up to an open door, curiosity got the best of him and looked inside. Airis was there. She was looking through things in a desk. She lifted up a leaf shaped pendant, sat down on the bed and held it up to the sun. Aang stared at the necklace in awe; it shone a dark, blood red.

"Come on in Aang" Airis said pulling the necklace away from the sun and holding it lovingly.

"Sorry" Aang said blushing, closing the door behind himand walking over to Airis "Forgot about the mind power thing." He sat down next to her and stared at the weird necklace in her hand. Looking at it closely he could now see it was really like a small leaf shaped bottle, made of glass. The top was sealed off with a small cork.

Airis moved her hand around and the contents of the bottle swished. Aang's eyes opened wide. "Is that…" Aang swallowed "is that blood"

Airis nodded solemnly "Yeah" She said wrapping the cord of the necklace around her hand and squeezing the bottle.

"Then why do you have it?" He asked wondering why in the world somebody would keep a bottle of blood with them. Let alone Airis.

Airis looked down at the blood. "You know that airbender kids aren't supposed to know their families, the whole earthly attachment thing…You know that I found out who my mother was when I was young right?"

Aang nodded slowly, not exactly sure where Airis was going with this.

"Well, airbender kids who do manage to find out who there parents are, are given this little bottle. To remind them that there family attachment is only for our physical form."Airis sighed "'Blood might be thicker than air, but air floats above all'" She impersonated the monks and laughed pititfully at herself "the monks always told me that. Anyway this bottle is filled with a bit of blood from the person they found out they are related to and vice versa."

Aang stared at the bottle. "So this bottle is filled with your mom's blood. That's creepy"

"Yeah but it's the last thing I have of her. I can't believe I forgot it here." Airis said as she put the bottle away in a desk drawer. Airis closed the drawer closed softly and looked back at Aang.

Airis pushed aside the recent arguement and smiled at Aang. "Speaking of airbenders, we have some Avatar and firebending training to do, now don't we?" Airis said cocking her head and placing her hands on her hips.

Aang sat up. "We have to start it now?" he whined "I just came out of a week of unconsciousness!"

"No time like the present" Airis bounced back, crossing her arms. "Besides, I sent the rest of the Gaang away shopping to make sure you had no distractions."

Aang set his eyes coldy on the wall and refused to look at Airis.

When Aang didn't answer, Airis sighed and put her arm around him. "I know you still don't like firebending. But people are counting on you. We all are"

Aang jerked away from her arm and stood up "Maybe I don't want people to count on me!" He yelled.

Airis sat there blankly. "Aang-" She started.

"Maybe I didn't want to be put into all this, maybe I just wanted to be a normal kid. Maybe I never wanted to be the Avatar! I never got to be a real kid, Airis…being the Avatar took that all away from me. It took my family away from me" He said softly falling to his knees.

Airis whipped some water out of the drainage pipe near her window and sat down next to Aang. She created healing gloves and brought them to his temple. He jerked at the cold at first, but then settled into the circle rhythm Airis was moving the water to. Humming softly to the twelve year old.

Aang closed his eyes and sighed as Airis cleansed his mind with the waterbending technique. She didn't stop when she began to talk "Aang none of our past lives wanted to be the Avatar. Even me, I not only had to master my skills but keep them secret at the same time. And nobody could have stopped the extinction of our people, it was meant to be and it happened. We can't change that now. "

Aang nodded "I'm sorry" he said opening his eyes slowly.

Airis shook her head. "Don't be. Our people are safe in the Spirit World now, and you know that monk Gyatso is always looking out for you. And Aang?" She turned his head a bit so that could see each others faces. "The Avatar is a part of us it is who we are. We hate it and love it at the same time. It is a treasure and burden. And what sucks the most is that it's up to us to find the balance."

Aang giggled.

Airis stopped her bending and smiled "Ha, you laughed!" She said tossing the water back out the window.

Aang turned around "No, I didn't!"

Airis tackled him. "Yes you did!" She said laughing and tickling him; both of them rolling over the floor like five-year-olds.

Aang through his laugher managed "Stop it! Stop it!" He said trying to move Airis's arms off of his stomach. Airis stopped and helped him up. He looked up at her and Airis ruffled his short blackish hair.

"So how about some Avatar training then, since firebending is still touchy. Huh? I bet you still got a bit to learn about your Avatar Spirit" She said opening the door and motioning for him to follow.

Aang sighed and followed her "I met up with Guru Pathik a couple of weeks ago. I thought he taught me everything?" He said falling into step with Airis.

Airis cocked her head "That onion-banana loving, old geezer is still alive? Whoa, he's old… Anyway that doesn't matter, since you're with Guru Airis now and besides there is way more to your Avatar Spirit then you could have learned with Guru Pathink in a week." She said pulling him close.

"C'mon I know the perfect place for you to connect with your Avatar Spirit" Airis said, grabbing his arm and dragging him down the hallways.

Aang laughed and wore a happy face. Inside however he didn't know what he was going to do once Airis asked him to find his Avatar Spirit. His connection with the Avatar Spirit had been broken, destroyed when Azula had almost killed him in the crystal catacombs. That was all he knew; nothing more, nothing less. And as he looked at Airis's smiling, hopeful face, he just didn't have the heart to tell her.

* * *

"Do we have all the food Air- uhh Phoenix asked us to get?" Katara said shuffling the heavy basket in her arms. 

"I don't know!" Sokka yelled trying to unsuccessfully balance his basket. It fell over and its contents spilled all over the ground. He groaned and bent over to pick them up.

"You're lucky that I have the jars and Toph has the fruit." Katara said watching her brother pick the herbs and wrapped up pieces of meat.

Toph walked up to Sokka and pulled a piece of paper out of his belt "Oh, and usually the person with the list knows what we don't have." She said waving the paper in front of his face. Sokka groaned and picked up the last of the stuff and stood up.

Toph laughed and handed the paper to Katara. Katara laughed and read over the list.

"How was I supposed to know it was in my belt?" Sokka said as he dropped the basket a second time.

"You're the one who put it there, moron!"

Katara stepped between Toph and her brother "Alright you too, break it up. We have all our stuff let's just head back to the house, before Phoenix and Aa- Kuzon get worried. We've been here too long already."

Toph stuck out her tongue at Sokka as he past by her. Sokka did the same and Toph tripped him. He fell face first and spilled the basket a third time.

"Aww, Come on!" he groaned as he picked up the food. Toph just laughed as she past him and Katara rolled her eyes.

"C'mon guys lets go" She said grabbing Sokka's arm and walking back to the house.

A man chuckled, hidden in a dark alley, at the new group as they made they're way back to the house.

He smirked "So the rumours are true Phoenix is back…and she brought friends, how cute and how perfect. They could be just what I need to lure her out and finally finish that bitch once and for all" He vowed as clenched his metal fist. "I will avenge you brother, I will. She will die; I will not let her escape again!"

He looked out of the alley again, the terrible stench of rotting food being pushed to the back of his mind. They headed to the scarcely inhabited hill where Phoenix used to live. _Stupid move, Phoenix, stupid move._ A maniacal grin grew over his face; causing the eye tattoo on his forehead to crumple up slightly. He took one last look at the kids and walked in the opposite direction.

He would attack soon. Once he knew who to target.

* * *

AN-Poor Airis :P Everyone's out to kill her. 

Things are heating up in the Fire Nation (man that's a terrible pun) and sorry that this one didn't have a lot of Kataang in it… But I'll try and fit some into the next chapter! Anyway…

Review Please!! I really, really want to hear what you guys think about it :)

So, please, please, please review. Please? Reviewing is so much fun!


	17. Rising and Falling

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA

AN- Sorry for the wait hehe ;) But here's chap 17! A late X-mas present for all you people. Just pretend it's ones of those presents that gets forgotten behind the tree until a couple of days after X-mas.

Oh yeah and I've started to name the chaps. Just tell me if you like it better or if you want me to go back to numbers.

Hope you guys like it ;D

Chapter 17

"Where exactly are we going?" Aang asked Airis who had dragged him to the far side of the house.

Airis just smiled "You'll see" She said releasing the hold on his arm a little bit.

They finally came up to a door with a bunch of vines trying to force their way through the available cracks. Airis finally let go of Aang and pulled away at the plants. She eventually pushed open the door with the help of a bit of force, and cracked it open. Aang was blinded by the sunlight at first, but his eyes got used to it. He rubbed his eyes and stared. Behind the door was a garden. It almost looked like the ones he had played and meditated in when he was at the Southern Air Temple.

The garden was hidden by a wall and wild flowers and plants grew everywhere. There was a small brook that had carved its way through the wall and had created a small pond in the garden. Even through it was obvious the garden had not been tended to in a long time it still gave off a symbol of peace and calmness.

Aang awed at the garden; Airis smiling beside him. His gaze traveled all over and took everything in.

"This place is beautiful Airis." He said gently holding up a Lotus. "It's almost like a sanctuary. Like the gardens back at the Air Temple."

Airis began to make her way down a path that cut its way through the garden "That's what I was aiming for. But we're not her to gawk at the scenery are we? We're here to check out your Avatar Spirit." She said motioning for Aang to follow her.

He nodded and followed her through the weed covered path. "Airis, I have something to tell you" He said as he ducked to avoid a hanging plant.

Airis pushed back some plants and stepped through the new pathway. Aang pushed back the same plants and stepped into a platform of some sorts. It was made up of wood, and surrounding the platform was the pond, a tree and a couple of wild flower bushes.

Airis stretched and sat down on the platform. She crossed her legs under her; tucking her dark brown hair beside her and motioning for Aang to sit too.

Aang sat down quickly across from him and stared at Airis for awhile. She did nothing but smile gently at him.

Aang rubbed the back of his neck "Umm… What are we doing?"

Airis placed her hands on her knees "You had something to tell me?"

"Oh right" Aang said looking away from his friend "Airis, I…I can't contact my Avatar Spirit. Azula destroyed it when she attack me lightning…I'm sorry"

Airis pulled his face back towards her and looked into his eyes "Duh! I know that already. I'd be surprised if your Avatar Spirit wasn't damaged."

Aang cocked his head "What?"

Airis leaned back on her elbows "You were in the Avatar State and you got hit by the lightning of one of the most deadly firebenders on the planet. No duh, your Spirit is going to be screwed up!"

Aang narrowed his eyes "I thought you wanted to help connect with my Spirit like Guru Pathik."

Airis nodded "Yes, because I knew you would have trouble with it. You need to reconnect with it and you'll need a spiritual expert, like me, to do that."

Aang nodded slowly "Okay… where do we start!" his eyes shining with excitement.

Airis laughed "You always loved to learn new things!" She said ruffling his short spiky hair.

Aang laughed and Airis became serious "Alright lets start with what Guru Pathik taught and told you. So, what did he tell you?"

Aang nodded. "He taught me about chakras and he helped me open them."

Airis's eyes narrowed "Did he help you open the chakras to help balance your spirit or for something else?"

Aang caught on to Airis's suspicion "No" He slowly drew out "I opened the chakras to master the Avatar State. Why?"

Airis gritted her teeth and slammed her fist into the platform. Aang jumped back.

"For the spirit's sake! Every fucking time! That's all they want!" She cursed. She looked up at Aang. He looked like a startled turtle-duck. She sighed and pushed some hair out of her face.

"Sorry about that" She said folding her hands in her lap. She sighed "It's just that every time the Avatar returns and masters the four elements they are pressured into mastering the Avatar State; to become as powerful as they can. But, there is so much more to your Avatar Spirit then just mastering the Avatar State. That's what I'm going to teach you along with firebending."

Aang nodded and thought over what Airis just said.

"And by the way, Aang, trying to master the Avatar State, back then was the stupidest thing you could have done. Didn't you know that?" She said crossing her arms.

"What?!" Aang yelled, his onyx eyes staring down hers. He lost thanks, to the mellowness portrayed by her's.

Airis pushed Aang back a bit "If what Katara told me about what happened in the catacombs in Ba Sing Se is true. Than my best guess of what happened with Pathik was that you didn't finish up all the chakras. Am I right?" She said, a knowing smile growing over her serious face.

Aang blushed and looked away "Yeah…" He began to fiddle with his thumbs.

Airis smirked inwardly. The fiddling was a tell-tale sign he was embarrassed and that he had way more to tell. And Airis knew exactly what he wasn't saying "Let me guess. It was the thought chakra, right?"

Aang's blush grew and he smiled at Airis. "Yeah..."

Airis smirked and leaned back "The whole earthly attachment thing…What could you have been attached to?" She asked herself; pretending to be thoughtful.

Aang's eyes were smiling when he looked up at her; almost trying to show her the answer in his molten silver pools. Aang opened his mouth to say something, but Airis her finger to his mouth and shushed him. "No, no don't tell me. I'll guess…"

Airis finger fell off Aang's face and went to hers, in fake thought. Her face lit up and a large smile traveled over her features. "I'll guess in" Airis smirked "…five…four"

_What the heck is she talking about?_ Aang thought as Airis's smile grew bigger.

"three…two..." She said crossing her arms. Aang stared at her and Airis smirked "one" She finished promptly.

The moment Airis finished 'one' a voice broke through the silence of Aang and Airis's conversation. "Aan- uhh…Kuzon! Phoenix! We're back!" Katara yelled from the kitchen. Aang jumped a bit, then his eyes began to shine uniquely and his face lit up considerably.

_Ohh yeah _Airis drawled inside her head. _No duh, that's the answer._

Then the two airbenders heard something heavy hit the ground and Sokka scream, then the sound of him jumping all over the room holding an injured foot. Airis laughed "C'mon" She said getting up and holding out a hand to Aang "Let's go see if Sokka needs a healing session"

Aang laughed and took her hand. As they made their way back through the garden Aang wondered out loud "You didn't guess what my problem was" he pointed out as he pulled his foot loose from a tangle of vines.

Airis pushed the door open and smiled at Aang "I didn't have to. You answered it for me."

Aang cocked his head and Airis giggled and put her arm around his shoulders. "You have got it bad little-buddy." She said, softly poking his chest.

Aang blushed and looked away. Airis shook his shoulders gently in comfort "Don't worry. It'll be our little secret. But you're gonna have to tell her sooner or later."

Aang looked up at her with a determined look in his eyes "I'm going to tell her before we leave the Fire Nation"

"Very specific vow there, buddy." Airis laughed "but still a vow and I'll hold you to it."

Aang smiled and hugged his friend "Thanks Airis"

Airis hugged him back "No problem Aang" She smirked into his spiky hair and suddenly with one swift movement, swept Aang off his feet and onto her back. Aang clung to her body, like a baby hog-monkey, in shock, and then laughed.

Airis laughed too, as she swerved through the halls, carrying Aang the rest of the way to the kitchen.

* * *

Katara began to unpack all the food they had bought and sighed to herself. She knew she shouldn't feel this way. Airis was just teaching Aang firebending, along with helping him discover the unknown corners of his Avatar Spirit. They were just friends. Weren't they?

Katara looked angrily down at some vegetables. They were getting pretty close; always spending time with each other and Airis always looking after Aang. Things were adding up. _No, Airis wouldn't go after Aang. Would she?_

_She's sixteen, He's twelve. I think friends will be as far as they go._

_Yeah but they are the two last remaining airbenders…_

_That doesn't matter! Remember when Aang almost told you 'I love you' before the Guru. He really likes you! He might even love you! C'mon we're supposed to be the optimistic one!_

_He could have changed his mind…_

_Arrgh!! Get it through your stubborn skull! He. Really. Likes. You. Maybe he's just shy to make the first move._

_You think? _

_He's always been kinda shy about those types of things. Remember when you kissed him on the cheek after he got our necklace back from Zuko. He turned red like a radish-beet! AND began to fiddle with his thumbs!_

_Yeah…_

_Aunt Wu! She said you'd marry a powerful bender. Avatar and powerful bender kinda have the same meaning and they fit perfectly together!_

_Maybe._

_Arrgh! Fine Ms. optimistic! Figure things out on your own! Sulk! Whine! See if I care! You're not going to go anywhere if you do that anyway!_

Katara groaned and continued to unpack the baskets. Toph sat down and propped her legs up on the table. Sokka sat down and stared at Katara eagerly as if expecting by just looking a Katara like that, that a meal would just magically appear in front of him.

"Don't look at me like that! I don't even know how to cook with this Fire Nation stuff. We'll have to wait for Airis to come back" Katara said throwing down an innocent apple and bruising.

Sokka scrunched his face up trying to understand his sister. He shrugged and went back to sulking over the food. He knew better then to wonder over girls. They were completely unreadable and the most confusing things he had ever laid eyes on.

Katara snooped around the kitchen, trying to find were everything was. She opened a drawer and found a bunch of cooking knives hidden in it. She pulled out the utensils and dusted them off. Katara was putting away the knives when one of the doors connecting to the kitchen slammed open and the room was filled with high pitched laughter.

Katara dropped the knives in the drawer and looked up to see. Airis run around the table once and then stop to let Aang slide off her back and onto the floor. He laughed and took a seat next to Sokka. Airis settled her laughing down to a couple of giggles and joined Katara with the dinner preparations.

"Sorry about that," Airis said checking out the contents on the counter "But my little-buddy over there was taking things way to seriously so I had to loosen his up a bit" She picked up a couple of things and layed them under the sink; to be washed.

"Hey!" Aang said picking up a pillow and pretending to throw it at Airis.

Airis pulled out a pot from somewhere and filled it with water. She opened a bag of rice and poured some in the pot.

Katara looked at Aang then Airis and seethed inside her head. She couldn't tell if it was just the 'beginning' of a great friendship or subtle flirting. Jealousy began to rise from her stomach as she glared, out of the corner of her eye, at the 'older' Avatar.

Airis smirked and lit the stove with a spark from her hand; placing the bowl of rice on top. Katara looked away and stared cutting up some vegetables. Airis turned around to grab a sauce or spice; Katara couldn't tell. Airis smiled knowingly at Katara. She turned around again; leaving Katara, somewhat, in her own little world.

_I'm on your side you know. _Airis said in Katara's mind.

Katara began to cut more furiously. _I don't know what you're talking about._

_Don't even try that. Aang and I are just friends and for the record; I hope it's you and Aang who end up together. Aang's too much like a kid brother to me. But you two make a cute couple._

Katara rolled her eyes _Yeah, right!_ She thought picking up another vegetable; the other one had been massacred.

_Fine don't believe me!_ Airis told Katara in her thoughts as she took some of Katara's chopped up veggies and threw them into the pot. _You should make the first move. It would give Aang a lot more confidence and you guys would have an even better shot together then you already do; just my opinion. _Airis cocked her head at Katara, while she waited for the rice to cook.

Katara rolled her eyes and looked back at Aang. Was what Airis had just said true? Was Aang just a little low on confidence to really talk to her? Was that it? Katara looked at Airis and Airis just smiled. Katara shoulders sagged. Airis had just heard everything she had just thought, didn't she.

Airis seemed to be telling the truth. What would she have to lose? Airis nodded and turned away from the waterbender. Katara sighed and went back to chopping. She still didn't feel comfortable with it. But she would have to stuff that jealousy somewhere to wait. Right now the world was depending on them to cooperate. Katara rolled her eyes _Grrreaat!

* * *

_

Katara sat as far away as possible from Airis during dinner; which was coincidently right next to Aang. Airis had smirked at this and handed out the rice. Katara was just happy Airis didn't bring up their discussion. Sokka began to talk about how he missed his boomerang and as if on cue he and Toph began to argue. Something about whining was all Katara could catch. Airis finally intercepted when Toph used her earthbending to slam Sokka's face into his food.

"Stop it both of you, or Sokka I'll take your sword away and Toph I'll give you an herb that stops bending all together. Agreed?" She said keeping Sokka and Toph arms length from each other.

"But then I won't be able to 'see'!"

"You will never take swordy away from me!"

_Swordy!? _Airis thought as she glared at Sokka and pushed her feet harder into the ground to 'glare' at Toph.

"How about, after this, I can show you guys to the sparring room? You guys can work out anger and practise at the same time. And you can kick each others butts." Airis said crossing her arms.

Toph backed up from Sokka "Sounds good to me. But I'm going to kick Sokka's butt. No questions asked"

Sokka scoffed "Excuse me but you're using weapons, you're on my turf. You have no chance"

Sokka and Toph both stood up; eyes narrowed at each other. Steam seemed to rise from the earthbender and warrior's heads. Toph slammed her palm in the table. "Alright, Crazy, where is this sparring room?!"

Airis sat back and smiled "Through the door, down the hall, first left and second door on your right." She answered smoothly.

Sokka and Toph both raced out of the room; running at full blast.

Airis smirked and looked back at Aang and Katara. Aang gave Airis a sceptical look while Katara just continued to eat her food as if nothing had happened. Airis shrugged.

"Don't worry. They'll be fine" Airis reassured "I bet they did this all the time when you guys were travelling through the Earth Kingdom, huh?" Airis said plopping some rice into her mouth.

Aang put down his food and nodded "Yeah, but still, not as much as this" He voice filled with concern and his eyes gazing worryingly at the door.

Airis sighed "The Fire Nation has a tendency to make people more passionate or violent. It's normal even for people who are not native to it. Same as having that feeling of peace or that feeling of being drugged when your at the Air Temples"

Aang nodded, not fully understanding, but he still had an idea. He looked over at Katara; who seemed to be going out of her way to avoid eye contact with Airis. Something has happened between the girl he loved and his old friend.

He shook his head and went back to eating. He had noticed that his feelings for Katara had amazingly felt stronger ever since they had entered. Maybe that was what Airis was talking about.

"Katara, Aang?" Airis asked as she picked up their empty bowls and brought them to the kitchen.

"Yeah" Aang answered

"Do you want to do a healing session? Tonight seems pretty quiet and Aang will have to start training as soon he can. And the sooner we have that wound healed the better. You guys in?" Airis said walking towards the hallway.

"Okay" Aang said slowly, getting up and walking towards Airis. He looked back at Katara who hadn't budged from her seat. "Are you coming Katara?"

Katara stood up and nodded, following the two airbenders.

"Are you alright Katara?" Aang asked keeping step with the waterbender.

Katara took her eyes off the ground and looked at Aang. "Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine; just feeling a little weird from the heat."

Aang cocked his head "But its night time." He said growing suspicious.

"Uhh…Yeah, I'm not used to nights being this warm. I mean we are in the Fire Nation and it is summer." Katara said trying to make it sound obvious.

"Okay…" Aang said letting go of the argument as they reached a door on a secluded part of the house. Airis opened the door and let Katara and Aang pass her. The room was not as big as the other in the house, but it wasn't small either. It had an unlit fireplace on the wall opposite the door and a mat lying on the center of the floor.

"I'll get some water." Airis said sending a spark of fire at the fireplace and lighting up the whole room, for all to see. She smiled and left: leaving the other two, to discover the room; on their own.

Katara looked around the room. She found several baskets filled with herbs and salves she had never seen before. She dug through a desk drawer, trying to find more familiar herbs and maybe do a little snooping on Airis while she was at it.

Aang walked up behind her. His silver eyes shining with curiosity and yet suspicion. "What exactly are you doing?" He asked coming up beside her.

Katara continued her snooping "Having a look at what different herbs Airis has. I know about a couple that might help you heal up faster"

"Don't you think we should ask her if we can look through her stuff?"

"This is a healing room Aang, Airis wouldn't keep any personal stuff here-" The moment Katara had said those words she unearth a small painting. Katara brought it to her face and studied it.

"What is that?" Aang asked leaning over trying to get a better look at the picture. Katara brought it down for Aang to see. The painting was of a younger Airis in a fighting stance with her back next to someone. They couldn't make out whom; the ink was completely blurred there. Airis was smiling and someone had their broad hand on her shoulder; but their face and body was completely blurred too. But, whoever she was with Airis seemed extremely happy and comfortable to be with them.

"What are you guys looking at?"

Aang and Katara whipped around to see Airis holding abowl of water and looking skeptically at them. Katara hid the painting behind her back. "Uhh…just some herbs" Katara said trying to put back the painting.

Airis set down the bowl of water and nodded, crossing her arms "Yeah…, but there are two things wrong with that sentence." Airis said walking over to them, "One: I don't keep my herbs there." She said reaching behind Katara and grabbing the painting. "Herbs don't look like paintings"

Aang rubbed the back of his neck "Yeah about that…"

Airis set the painting away on a table. "Well... don't worry about it. Aang you want to take off your bandage?"

Aang looked up at his friend "I will if you tell me who those people are in the painting with you" He said taking off his shirt to reveal his bare, bandage wrapped chest.

Airis sighed "In that painting is my old boyfriend and firebending master. We had just won a tournament together. End of subject." She said placing the bowl of water next to the mat and motioning for Aang to sit on it.

Katara sat down next to Aang and helped him remove his bandage. "Why don't you want to talk about them?" She asked, her motherly instinct taking over.

Airis looked into Katara's ocean blue eyes. Her own storm grey ones reflecting the flicker of the fire in the fireplace, making it seem as though she was some great story teller. She looked away, half of her face lit up every feature detailed, the other side swallowed up by darkness. "They're in the past; I need to forget about them."

"But you loved him." Katara pushed as she placed Aang's dirty bandages aside. The lightning wound was healing nicely and it was soon going to scar.

"I did and I still do. But we have been separated for three years. He's moved on." Airis said solemnly, handing the bowl of water to Katara.

Aang just sat there watching as the conversation continued, trying to keep up with what was being said.

"How do you know for sure?" Katara asked as she studied the Avatar's appearance. Usually Airis was calm, collected, and confident. With this subject brought up, she seemed to shrink away and was easily affected by every word.

Airis stared down the waterbender "I just do okay. Let's have a look at your wound Aang." She said turning his back towards her. Airis nodded and turned Aang to face her. She placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

"Katara" She said over Aang's shoulder "Do what I showed you on our last night at the island. Don't worry it won't hurt him."

"But…" Katara's hands began to shake a bit as she remembered the traumatic experience that night.

Aang's eyes widened. But Airis patted his back "Don't worry about it. Just relax. Let the water sooth you." Airis said calming her voice.

Aang closed his eyes and exhaled. Letting the girls know that he trusted them. Airis smiled and motioned for Katara to start.

Katara steadied her hand and collected some of the water in the bowl and changed it into a skinny glob. Aang exhaled again, letting the swishing sounds of the water calm his state of mind.

Katara placed the water on his back and began to move it up and down in a lulling pattern.

"Tell us where you feel the pressure is needed" Airis told him her voice as steady and calm.

Aang nodded "A little higher" Katara complied and moved the glob higher up is back. "Almost-" Aang said his voice rougher than normal. Katara pressed the water more firmly into the wound until they found the spot.

Aang felt as though he was out of his body as remembered the lightning coursing through his veins. His body began to spasm. But only a little and the pain he remembered was not as strong and powerful as before. After several moments it stopped and he came back to his senses.

Katara was holding him steady and Airis was checking his pulse and forehead, along with his wound. Aang groaned as he leaned into Katara for support. Airis held up his head and smiled at him.

"Do you feel any better?" She asked; her voice soft and filled with concern for the wounded airbender.

Aang nodded. His back hurt a bit with the remembered pain, but it was quickly fading away but, all in all, he felt better than before. He smiled at Airis and Katara. "I do feel better actually, thanks" He said softly; his voice barely over a whisper.

Airis looked over at Katara "Told you" The airbender smirked.

Katara rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Fine, you were right he does get better every time we do that."

Aang groaned and leaned back into Katara. "So tired…" He whispered as he fought to stay awake. The healing session had been extremely tiring for the still weak Avatar.

Airis nodded and smiled. "Okay. C'mon let's get you to bed." Airis said as she helped Aang up to his feet; his arm draped across Katara's shoulder's for support.

Aang was shaky on his feet and was fighting to keep his eyes open with each step he took. Airis kept a watchful eye on the two as she whipped the fire out of the fireplace and absorbed its energy. A trick she had taught herself, while her boyfriend and her master were off somewhere.

Airis followed the two outside of the room and closed the door gently behind her. Katara and Aang were hobbling down the hall way at a painfully slow speed. They were tripping with each step, Aang only half-awake and Katara struggling slightly under the full weight of the Avatar.

Airis tsked at them. She walked up to them and grabbed Aang's other arms, wrapping it around her shoulder. "Here, I'll carry him to the room. He's too tired to walk. That session really took a lot out of him" She said giving a friendly smile to Aang and Katara.

Aang managed a weak smile at Airis and turned his head to see if Katara agreed.

Katara stared fiercely at Airis. Cold sapphire fought against warm silver. Katara knew something was up between Aang and Airis, and she didn't like it one bit. During their staring contest Airis jerked her head subtly at Aang. Katara gave her a finishing menacing glare and looked toward the person she was half carrying. Aang looked up to her with tired eyes, looking for approval.

He was tired and he wouldn't make it to his room to rest properly if Katara continued to carry him like she was. Katara grumbled under breath and gently past Aang to Airis.

Airis smiled and gave Katara a knowing nod and smile, as she picked up Aang like a child and continued on their way to the room.

Aang's eyes dashed from Airis's and Katara's face. He had caught wind of their wordless argument. He was upset that his friend and the girl he loved were fighting. And what was worse he didn't know what they were fighting about! He tried to read their faces to gain more insight on their inner battle. He couldn't find anything. He groaned and leaned back into Airis's arm. He was too tired to think about anything right now. All he wanted to do was sleep…

Airis smiled as Aang began to snore softly in her arms. Katara still glared at her. As if trying to mentally kill her. Airis sighed as she turned a corner and stood in front of a door. She kicked open the door, amazingly not waking Aang up. Katara followed her in quickly.

The room mainly red, _well, duh!_ Katara thought as she entered the room. The walls were made of wood and the same with the floor. The bed was in the corner of the room, close to a large window. There was a small desk in the room and a red patterned carpet in the centre, red and black pillows randomly scattered around it.

Airis pulled back the blankets on the bed, with her free arm and placed him gently on the soft red blankets. She pulled the covers up to his chest and Aang smiled in his sleep. Airis smiled and stroked his hair before turning away and exiting the room; leaving Katara and Aang by themselves.

Katara stood there looking at Aang sleep peacefully, contemplating her thoughts and mulling over her daydreams; zoning out into her little private world. She came back when she heard Airis close the door. Katara held her breath, expecting the girl to come back, but Airis's footsteps grew reliably fainter and fainter until Katara couldn't here anything but, Aang even breath and the crickets singing outside his window.

Katara let go of her breath and sat down on Aang's bed next to him, staring down lovingly at him. A single tear fell down her cheek. She wiped it away the moment she knew it had been created and set free. She wasn't supposed to be jealous or angry at Airis. There was nothing between Airis and Aang other than a strong bond of friendship. She should expect that, they were the last remaining airbenders in the whole world; they would stick together and keep each other safe, right?

Katara hung down her head and allowed another tear to escape. Who was she kidding? Aang was probably already in love with Airis and forgotten completely about her. She was just a Southern Water Tribe peasant and he was the Avatar. Why the heck should he fall in love with her? She was just his waterbending friend, acting like his mother now and again.

Katara wiped away the rest of her tears. She had let herself fall for Aang, when she was doomed from the start. Why would she even bother trying to make her and Aang more than just friends?

_Because 95 of your heart/brain, aka me, knows that Aang loves you and that you two were meant to be together. _Her subconscious reassured.

_Yeah, the dreaming part of my heart/brain. _

_Shut up and listen to yourself! You're supposed to be the optimistic one!_

_We already went through this!_

_Well obviously you need to hear it again! _

_ARRAAGH You are so infuriating!!!_

_Fine! I'll leave!_

Katara sighed and looked at Aang once last time before getting up and kissing his forehead softly, she wouldn't risk kissing his lips at the possibility of him waking up. Katara smiled down at Aang. Sleep causing his breath to deepen and even and the look of complete peace was etched over each of his features.

She closed the open window and backed out of the room slowly making sure not to make too much sound. Katara closed the door in front of her and turned around to find that she was staring face to face with Airis. Katara jumped back, how long had Airis been there.

Airis gave away no knowledge on her face. She stepped aside to reveal a door exactly opposite of Aang's.

"This is your room" she said, her voice holding no emotion. Katara nodded slowly and Airis walked away; her boots thumping on the wood panels of the floor until Katara heard her open a door awhile away and step into the room.

Katara got out of her initial shock and wondered exactly how much of her mental confession Airis had heard. _More than enough._ Katara told herself. She groaned; being with Airis was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Katara slipped into her new room without a sound. She jumped into the bed and hauled the blankets up to her chin, not bothering to change her clothes or take her hair out.

Katara sighed longingly out an open window at the moonlit sky. The light creating a silver gleam on everything it touched. Katara gazed up at the moon. The one true place she could find pure comfort.

"Mom?" She asked the moon, letting a tear slip from the corner of her eye. "I miss you. I don't know what I'm doing right now, everything with Airis and Aang. I don't know how to take it. Part of me is screaming that he in love with me. The other says that he's in love with Airis. What should I do? I need you mom" Katara said to the single leader of the millions of stars.

"I miss you so much" Katara murmured as she slowly allowed sleep to claim her. She let her head hit the pillow as she prayed that someway, somehow, her mom had heard everything she had said.

Katara wrapped her arms around herself, pretending that it was her mother wrapping her arms around her love torn daughter; comforting and understanding as always. So young Katara had been when the Fire Nation raid had happened, that she had not known the true value of a mother. And now that she knew, it was too late. Just, too late…

AN- Katara and mother stuff there for ya :)

Jealousy, walls and tempers are rising. Mwahahaha I love it ;P (I know I'm evil :P)

Do **you** love it? That is the real question here. Just review and tell me :P

Also if you guys have any ideas for what they could do in the Fire Nation. Plz tell me. I have an idea of what things are going to happen, but i need more ideas to get my brain pumping. review and tell me your ideas :)

Press the wee purple button and review. There is a little person in the back of your brain telling you to review, right now isn't there? I know there is. ;D

Mwahahaha! Review!! You know you want to!


	18. Undiscovered Past

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA

AN-(sighs in relief) woo hoo! Chap 18!! This one has a tincy wincy bit of a surprise that I don't think any of you saw coming, uless your physcic and read my mind from the computer screen. Anyway enough with the spoilers and on with the chap.

P.S.-please don't hate me for the surprise, it's just how it played out in my brain. hehe :P

Chapter 18

Airis slammed her fist into the wall. On contact the boards shook the vibrations causing more pain then foretold. Airis kept her fist there anyway. Soaking up the pain like a drug, a familiar drug. One she had used over and over again to forget true pain. She wheeled around and punched another wall, harder; punishing herself for being so stupid.

She left her hand in the dent it had created for a little longer, trying to calm her self down. She slumped down onto the floor and pressed her back against the wall. She exhaled and focused on the gentle moonlight resting on the floor. She followed it out the window and looked up at the moon.

She didn't blame Katara for feeling such jealousy against her. Airis deserved all of it. What angered Airis the most was that every time she had a good thing going, it was stopped by something. Be it Fire Nation armies, arrogant waterbending masters, or fucking Fire Lords. Airis tightened her fists and clenched her teeth.

No. Airis would not let this fall because of a misunderstanding. She would fix it so Katara would know that she was on her side and not trying to take Aang away from her. Sure Airis was trying to rekindle her friendship with Aang, but it was nothing more than that.

Airis sat down on the bed and sighed. What could she do to prove this to Katara? Aang already knew that Airis was trying to get Katara and him together. But Aang couldn't tell her, Katara could take it as pity and Airis knew by experience never to anger the waterbender. Katara was ten then, Airis couldn't imagine what Katara was capable now that she was fourteen and a waterbending master. Airis would have to tread carefully on this ground.

_I need to relax, clear my mind. An idea will come to me eventually. _Airis sighed and stood up. _Might as well go see what Sokka and Toph are up to._ She shook her head and walked out the door, hitting her head purposely on the frame. She was just asking for it wasn't she.

* * *

Sokka rammed into Toph, she stood strong taking up a steady horse stance, and the only thing separating the two opponents was Sokka's sword and Toph's blades that had blocked his sudden attack. Toph dug her bare feet into the stone floor of the sparring room. She groaned as she pushed Sokka back. 

Feeling his vibrations gave her an advantage, she smirked when she found that his knees were weakening considerably as the seconds inched by.

Toph changed her stance and snaked one of her feet behind Sokka's ankle and with one final push she sent Sokka flying back. Toph sent some knives after him; following her projectiles as fast as she could.

Sokka grabbed his sword and deflected all of the knives, sending them to a pitiful fall to the ground. He smirked at his work just as Toph whipped out another set of knives at a closer, more deadly, range. He turned around just in time to be spared from being hit, but ended up pinned to the wall. He pulled against the weapons with no avail. What was with him and getting pinned to the wall these days?

Toph laughed at his struggle. She walked up to him and pointed in his general direction. "I win, again. You're making this way too easy Snoozles"

Sokka huffed and crossed his arms "Best 16 out of 31"

"Really? That much?" asked a familiar voice. Toph smirked, she knew who it was. She would know those complicated vibrations anywhere. Toph could barely read them; they were almost always changing, but the thing was she could still read them.

"I thought you wouldn't be able to move after Toph kicked your butt fourteen times. I think I should be either proud of Sokka or disappointed in you, I can't pick which" Airis said coming up behind Toph and placing her hand on her chin thoughtfully.

"Ha, ha, so funny!" Sokka said from his trap. "Can one of you guys please get me down?" He said as he began tugging on one of the knives.

"Of course" Airis said smirking. She walked up to Sokka and grabbed one of the blades "You just have to twist them like this and-" Airis turned the knife and pulled it up "they pop right out. I learned that the hard way." Sure enough the weapon popped out and fell promptly into her palm.

She pulled out the rest of them and ended up propping him up with her hand; keeping him from smashing head first into the hard stone floor.

"Let me go!" Sokka whined.

"Okay" Airis smiled as she took her hand back and let Sokka fall flat on his face.

Sokka picked up his head and groaned. "I was expecting that" he said before he let his head fall back into the ground. "Ow" he moaned.

Airis laughed. "Come on get up" She said hauling him back up by the back of his shirt.

Sokka steadied himself on Airis "Ohh, my head" He groaned; grabbing Airis shoulder to keep balance. "Why did you do that?" He asked drowsily trying to focus on her eyes.

"You asked me to" Airis said simply, cocking her head.

Toph laughed "You're good" She said punching Airis in the arm. Airis automatically returned the favour. They smirked at each other and they ganged up on Sokka.

"Ow!" He said rubbing both arms. "That's not fair! Two against one"

Airis nodded "You're right, it's not." She smirked. "Anyone up for 'every man for himself'?"

"Fine with me" Toph said, bringing two shuriken to her hand.

Sokka rubbed his head and yawned "You guys go ahead and burn and punture yourselves. I'm going to bed. A warrior needs his rest, and so does his sword." He said petting his scabbard "Hey Airis, where's my room?" He said stopping at the door.

Airis shrugged "Don't matter, just pick one. Aang and Katara are down the hall, right across from each other, I'm further with the flames on the door"

Sokka nodded and yawned again. He left the room and all was silent. Airis turned to face Toph.

Toph smiled at Airis and pointed at her "Spit it out" Toph ordered.

"What?" She answered a little too quickly.

"What's up with you?" Toph said sitting down on the ground. "And don't you even try and lie to me"

Airis sighed and sat down next to Toph, crossing her legs. "You know about Katara and Aang, right?"

"Duh!" Toph said pulling out a knife and picking at her nails.

Airis smiled at the younger girl's tough like actions. "Well, ever since Aang woke up and I've started to help him get back into training, Katara's been angry at me." Airis brought her hand to her head "Man, I sound like a five-year-old." Airis said as she shook her head.

Toph put the knife back into its hiding place. "I've noticed"

"Thanks!" Airis scoffed

Toph punched Airis's arm "About Katara, moron! She was going out of her way to avoid you at dinner and she tenses up every time you're around. And when Aang is around too, she gets all jealous. It's funny, really"

Airis laughed "Yep, other peoples' confusion is your entertainment. Boy, you sure do know how to cheer a person up."

"Your welcome, but I wasn't trying to cheer you up. I just wanted you to tell me what was going on. Oh, and let me guess you also had a fight or something with Katara, am I right?"

Airis nodded at the earthbender "Yep during dinner, when we were cooking."

"I didn't hear anything" Toph said narrowing her eyes, not believing what Airis was saying.

"Because we were doing this" Airis closed her eyes and cleared her mind. She focused on Toph and suddenly:

_Hello! _Airis thought cheerfully in Toph's mind.

Toph jumped back "How the hell did you do that!!??"

Airis smiled "Avatar stuff. I learned when I was ten. It's really fun; when you do it to unsuspecting people."

Toph held out her hands "Whoa, wait, back up a minute! You said your mind power thingy was Avatar stuff. Does that mean Twinkle Toes can learn that type of stuff too?" Toph said digging her hands into the ground to see if Airis would lie or not.

Airis smiled at Toph's reaction "Yeah, I'm going to try and teach it to him, but you need a clear undisturbed mind to work it properly."

"And we all know Aang has other 'important' things on his mind." Airis and Toph said together.

Airis lifted an eyebrow "Katara?"

Toph smiled at the ground "Duh!"

Airis laughed "C'mon we better get to bed, it's almost midnight" She said standing up and holding out a hand to Toph, but she did an earthbending trick and pushed herself up. The two girls exited the room and walked down the hallways of the house.

"Here's your room" Airis said opening a door that was not far from her room. Toph smiled and walked inside.

"Not too shabby." She said 'looking' around the room "Night Crazy"

Airis smiled "Glad you like it. Night Toph" She said turning towards her room.

Toph turned around to stop Airis. "Hey, Crazy you know something?"

Airis paused and looked back at Toph. "What?" She asked gently, smiling.

"I have this feeling I can trust you. Don't know why. You're alright in my book. If you're as good a teacher with Aang as you were with me. I'm sure he'll be a firebending master in no time."

Airis raised her eyebrows "Words of praise, from Toph. Okay, where is, she and what have you done with her?" Airis joked.

"Ha ha, funny!" Toph scoffed. "But it is true. Anyway, good night Crazy" Toph said turning around and closing the door.

Airis turned around and sighed "I just hope that trust lasts" She mumbled softly under her breath. She shook her head and walked quickly over to her room. She slipped inside and jumped quickly into the bed, she sighed as she wrapped the red blankets around her. She rolled over to tighten the blankets, but something small and hard blocked her way.

She pulled the object out of the wrinkled blankets. It took her a moment to realize exactly what it was in the darkened room. She narrowed her eyes. It was a painting…a painting of him. Her eyes opened wide as she studied the painting. She closed her eyes quickly and turned her head away. She tossed the painting across the room. It slid on the floor, right under the desk; hidden from the world.

She didn't want to think about that right now. Baby steps, Airis kept reminding herself.

She sighed. She needed her rest; she had to teach Aang tomorrow. These little tidbits of her past that kept popping up, were not getting her into the teaching spirit.

Airis rolled over and faced the wall. _You can't keep running form your past Airis. It will catch up with you and bite you harder in the butt._

Airis closed her eyes and scrunched up her face. _Yeah, but I can try. For Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka. I will try._

Her inner self sighed. Airis hit herself on the forehead. _Just sleep, I'll figure things out in the morning._

_Of course, and that always works out for us._ Her inner self replied sacastiacally.

_

* * *

_

The annoying chirps of the butterkets (AN-butterfly/cricket) were slowly begining to fade as dawn breached. A lone, faint ray of sunlight made it's way into Aang's room and onto his face; though it was not intense enough to wake him. Aang fianlly woke to the almost imidate sound of knocking. He turned around in the bed and groaned wrapping his warm cocoon of blankets tighter around him. "Sleeping!" He yelled to the person on the other side of the door. It stopped and Aang sighed. He closed his eyes and prepared to fall asleep again.

Sadly for Aang, the door opened and Airis walked in, she shook her head at Aang. "C'mon big guy time for Avatar training. Let's go" She said sitting beside him and shaking the cocoon a bit.

Aang grabbed his pillow and covered his head with it. "Don't you know what time it is!?" His yell muffled by the pillow and the matress.

Airis smirked "Yeah, three hours past noon." She said placing her hands on her hips.

Aang jumped in the bed. He stared at Airis "What?!?! Three hours past noon!?! Why didn't anyone wake me up?!" He said, as he ripped off the cocoon from his body and jumped out of bed.

Airis laughed. "Because actually; it's just past sunrise. That was just an easy way to wake you up." She laughed to her self as she walked past Aang.

Aang's shoulders sank "I hate you" he mumbled.

Airis smiled "I know you do" She said opening the window further; letting more sun in and warming up the room.

"Get dressed and come to the kitchen for breakfast. Oh, and be quiet the others are still asleep." Airis said before throwing a bundle of clothes Aang's way and leaving the room.

Aang rolled his eyes and set to work on his new clothes. It was exactly how it had been at the Southern Air Temple. Airis would always be the first to wake him up after they had met, no matter what, not even Gyatso was able to get to him first. And she would do any weird way she could think of. Once, she even stuffed a bunch of sleeping lemurs into his bed and rang he dinner bell. And when the lemurs woke up they went crazy. Let's just say he wasn't too comfortable for the rest of the day.

Aang finally managed to pull his shirt on and haul up his pants. Fire Nation clothes were way too complicated. He liked the Air Nomad style of just miles of fabric. It was much easier; to him anyway.

Aang left the room as quietly as possible; careful not to cause the boards to creak. Once he reached a point where there were no more doors. He ran back the rest of the way to the kitchen.

* * *

Airis placed the tea pot on the table and went back to get the fruits and breads. She setting them down on the table and poured herself a cup of tea. She brought the steaming liquid to her lips and blew softly. 

"Five…four…three…two" Airis sipped the cup and placed it back on the table "one"

Aang burst through the door and slid across the room to the table. He was all smiles and energy. Airis couldn't help but smile at the twelve-year-old. Aang bowed in thanks for the food and sat down.

"Why are we eating tea, fruits, and bread?" He asked picking up a mango, tossing it in the air and taking a bite.

Airis smiled and drank a bit more of her tea "The tea is to calm your mind, and we're eating fruit because I know you like them and the bread is to give you energy."

Aang put down his fruit and stared at the girl opposite him "Airis, I told you I'm never going to firebend again. No matter how many stories you tell me about you blowing up ostrich horses."

Airis cocked her head. "Good, because were going to work on your Avatar Spirit today. I have a couple of interesting things I want to teach you that only Avatars know."

Aang smiled "Great! When can we start?" He asked impatiently

"Once we finish breakfast." Airis said pouring herself more tea

Aang opened his mouth wide to shove the whole mango in his mouth.

"And take your time or you'll feel like crap all day." Aang shrank his mouth and ate the mango properly. Airis shook her head and continued to eat breakfast.

Five minutes later Aang sat there practically begging Airis to start training. The corners of Airis's mouth rose ever so slightly and Aang knew he had won. "Alright, let's head to the garden." Airis said shaking her head

Aang punched the air.

Airis laughed and picked up the dishes. "If you help me it will go a lot quicker" She said putting the teapot in the sink.

He saluted "Right!

Airis laughed at his enthusiasm as he began to dry their dishes. You just had to love that kid.

* * *

"Alright let's start with something you haven't fully mastered yet." Airis said circling Aang. They were in the over grown garden and Aang was sitting intently on the wooden platform with his legs crossed, as his new master studied him. 

"Did Jeong Jeong teach you a stance?" Airis said stopping in front of her student.

Aang narrowed his eyes up at his new teacher. "You said we were learning spiritual stuff"

"Yes, but might as well kill two birds with one stone; calming your mind and mastering a new stance. So did he teach you a stance or not?"

Aang nodded.

Airis moved to the far side of the platform. "Show it to me" She ordered.

Aang got into his stance were his fists were close to his abdomen, his legs were spread wide, his knees were bent and his back was completely straight.

Airis smiled and walked up to the male Avatar. "Not to bad. Just widen your stance a little bit more so your entire body is proportioned. Like this" Airis got it a stance similar to his.

He noticed his flaw and quickly corrected it. Airis smiled "Good. Now, what else did he teach you about this stance?"

Aang thought for a moment "He told me to inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth. Breathe control."

Airis smiled "Good, we can work with that. I want you to do exactly what Jeong Jeong told you to do. I bet you have a bit more discipline now?"

Aang looked up at the older girl "You want me to breathe?"

She nodded "Control your breath and concentrate on the suns energy, it's a different form of meditation. What we're trying to accomplish here is to clear your mind."

"And why would we do that?" Aang asked, moving ever so slightly out of his stance.

"So we can strengthen your Avatar Spirit. No more questions. Concentrate. All I can tell you is that you're going to need it and a lot of it. Now focus." Airis said closing her eyes and breathing along with him.

Aang followed her lead and began to inhale and exhale accordingly. He hoped whatever they were going to do would be worth it this boring exercise.

"I heard that" Airis said, opening one eye at Aang. "Concentrate"

Soon Aang felt his breathing even out into a pattern. He felt every piece of gentle warmth the sun layed on his face, as intense heat, and the faintest breezes that grazed his stance as if the were strong gusts.

* * *

The sun finally made its way into the waterbenders room and soon it crawled over the bed and onto Katara's face. Katara finally allowed herself to wake up. She hauled herself out of bed and found a little sack at the foot of her bed. She recognized the sack as the one she had brought from the ship. She bet Airis had put them there. 

Inside were clothes. Clean…Fire. Nation. clothes... Katara sighed. She'd never get used to them. But at least they were clean and smelled decent. Katara looked down at her clothes; she had been in them for more then two days.

She sighed and changed quickly into the fresh clothes. Katara sat down at the desk in her room and stared at her image in the mirror. She looked so…different. The old Katara would have never thought that she would be donning Fire Nation clothes and helping both the Avatars find there destinies.

Katara sighed. The old Katara would have also thought that her old best friend, Wataki, or now Airis, would be trying to steal the boy she loved away from her.

_Maybe she's not trying to take Aang away from you. Maybe she's just trying to rebuild there friendship. They were friends when they're straining and stressing Avatar training began. They were the only ones each other could turn to when they were tossed there heavy responsibilities._

Katara stared at herself in the mirror. Maybe that little voice in her head was right. Maybe she should just forget about Airis and focus on Aang. Airis HAD told her to make the first move. Katara stared deeply at her own ocean blue eyes and inhaled heavily. _Okay let's do this_ Katara let out a ragged exhale and stood up sharply.

She was going to find Aang and tell him everything and no 16 year old, grey eyed, female Avatar was going to stop her.

Her subconscious smiled. _There's the Katara I love.

* * *

_

Aang sat down by the fire in the healing room he had been in the night before. Airis was across from him. She had already taken up her meditation pose and was adjusting her breathing as she waited for Aang to sit down.

Airis opened her eyes and looked down at the twelve year old. "You sure you want to do this now? We can always wait until you feel completely ready. Going to the Spirit World is a pretty big step, even though it will help stengthen you a lot." Airis said trying to reason with him.

Aang smiled "No, I need to heal as fast as I can so I can be prepared for the invasion." Aang placed a hand on her shoulder. "And besides if you want to answer that question, I'll do anything to help. We'll knock two things out at once. I'll strengthen my Avatar Spirit and your question will be answered" Aang placed his hands on his knees.

Airis smiled, "Thanks Aang" Aang shifted his position "You ready?" Airis asked, raising the fire a little bit more, to help with the transition to the Spirit World.

Aang nodded and closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the crackling fire lull him. Airis smiled and closed her eyes; listening to the fire as well, an element that was apart of both the Avatars.

They let their smiles fade into concentrated, relaxed features. They could feel their grip on this world slowly slipping. The melodically contrast of each others breathes meshed with their own breath was slowly growing fainting. Their entire worlds went solid black, when their hidden tattoos glowed under their cover and both their eyes shot open, no longer grey but instead conquered by an eerily powerful, blue glow.

They were on they're way to the Spirit world.

* * *

It was midday and Katara had been looking for Aang for hours. She had given up her search several times, but had always returned after giving herself a thorough butt kicking. Toph and Sokka had left to explore the capital; Katara had trusted them to not do something stupid. Before they had left Toph had pulled her into a corner and had told her that Airis was going to do some heavy duty training or something. 

Katara sighed. They were spending time together again. Katara shook her head. No, they were just training; Airis is just his firebending and Avatar teacher.

Katara looked down the hall. She had been all over the building, had checked every room and even every corner of the over grown garden she had found earlier. She walked up to a door and pressed her ear to it, to check for any signs of life. Katara narrowed her eyes and pressed her ear closer to the door. Crackling fire? What the hell?

Katara pressed harder against the door and the door creaked open. A warm blue glow pushed its way through the windowless room and attempted to escape out the door. Katara slid inside and closed the door behind her. It was the healing room, she, Airis, and Aang had been in last night.

There was no light in the windowless room, safe for the fire and two twin glows coming from the motionless shells of bodies that belonged to Aang and Airis.

Katara held her breath; they were in the Spirit World. She was too late, they were long gone now. _Why would they have gone to the Spirit World? Is something wrong? What could've been wrong?_ That was the real question.

Katara took a step forward and she heard a crinkling sound come from under her foot. She stepped back and crouched down to see the paper. Katara cocked her head, there were words on it. She picked it up and held it to the light of the fire. She smiled; she could recognize Aang's quick, light srokes anywhere.

_Katara-_

_Don't worry. We just went to the Spirit World to strengthen my connection with the Avatar State, so I can train further with Airis. Also, Airis wanted to know why there are two Avatars this cycle and she needs me to find that out. Neither of us knows why, but her mother told her that we both needed to be there. _

_We have no idea when we'll be back. But don't worry Katara, Airis and I will protect each other. How much trouble can TWO Avatars get into?_

_-Aang_

Katara scanned the letter again and looked at their bodies. Katara frowned to herself. _A lot. _She thought, answering his written question.

Then, realization hit her like a stamped of ostrich-horses. When their souls were in Spirit World, their bodies, still here in this world, were at their mot vulnerable. And to make matters worse they were smack dab in the middle of the Fire Nation.

Katara had to make sure Aang's body was kept safe. Okay, okay, and Airis's too. No one could bother them or else they might never make it back to this world. Katara touched the broad swords at her waist. She would stay here as long as she had to.

Katara sighed. Knowing Aang and Airis…yeah their trip was going to take awhile. Might as well make herself comfortable.

Katara sat down and stared at Aangs eyes, they weren't the warm grey eyes she had often sought comfort in, but they were the lifeless, power filled blue glow that Katara had seen too often take over his body and emotions.

Katara absolutely hated it when Aang entered the Avatar State. He was normally so calm gentle and carefree. The Avatar State just proved to Katara that Aang was feeling tremendous pain or anger, and it broke her heart every time she had saw him that way.

She folded her legs underneath her and scooted over next to Aang. Katara stared at the flames in the fire place. She looked up at Aang and wondered what was going on in the Spirit World…

* * *

Aang opened his eyes to a complete change in scenery. He was surrounded by a swamp and the hum of crickets and slow raindrops filled his ears. The swamp soon gave in to a thicket of bamboo stalks. He was sitting on some sort of platform. He looked up and felt the raindrops softly pelt his head. He glanced down at his clothes and smiled. He was back in his old Air Nomad clothes. Aang looked down at his hands; his arrows were back, too. His hands rushed to his head. Aang smiled wider. He was bald again! Thank you, Spirit World! 

Suddenly Aang heard the rustling of wind in front of him and Airis soon materialized not a foot away from him. She had her arrows back too and was also in back in her Air Nomad robes, the ones he had seen her wear a hundred years ago. They were exactly like his except that she had a long yellow skirt, with a slit down the front, instead of airy pants. Airis's eyes blinked open and smiled at him as she looked around.

"We made it. I can contact the Spirit World!" Aang smiled "Uhhh…where are we exactly?" Aang said, following Airis's lead and standing up, rubbing his head.

"A swamp in the North-west corner of the spirit world" Airis answered, jumping off the platform into the knee high water. "Mainly water spirits reside here; maybe a couple of earth spirits. But what we want to look for is air spirits, right? So let's go find my mom" She said smiling and pointing towards the bamboo stalks and trudging off into the swamp.

Aang jumped into the water and followed his friend "Why are we going to find Master Chen, exactly? Shouldn't we be trying to find the spirits of the monks or past Avatars, or something?"

Airis stopped and allowed the younger Avatar to catch up. "Because she told me once I found you and brought you with me to the Spirit World she would tell us the truth about our pasts. I don't know why, but that's what she said. You just can't make moms budge."

Aang hung his head as they continued to walk. "I wouldn't know."

Airis wrapped her arm around his shoulder "I'm sorry, but hey at least you had Gyatso and me" She said poking him.

He laughed and pushed her finger away.

Airis smiled "I made you laugh!" She said running toward the stalks.

Aang laughed and ran after her "That didn't count!" He yelled after her. He jumped in the air to try and create his air scooter, but ended up face first in the swamp water. Airis ran back to him laughing.

"No bending in the Spirit World, remember?" She said helping him up.

"Yeah, I think I figured that out now, thanks" He said peeling a weird plant off his face.

The two laughed and headed back toward there destination. Airis hopped through the bamboo running through the thick plants like it was nothing. When Aang was hesitant, Airis rolled her eyes and made her way back; she grabbed his elbow and hauled him in with her. As they raced through the bamboo stalks, the plants whipped their faces, while moving to the slow rhythm of the wind.

Aang smiled as they reached the other side of the stalks. They stepped out into a suddenly mountainous terrain. Aang tried to figure out why mountains were so close to a swamp, but when he turned around, he didn't see the bamboo they had come through, but instead a mountain. Aang gaze scanned over the mountain until a small rock hit him on the forehead.

He looked in the direction the pebble had come from and there was Airis already scaling up the side of the mountain. She was smiling and sticking her tongue out at him. "C'mon slow poke! We're burning daylight!" She yelled down at him, taking on hand off the mountain and pointing to the horizon; the sun was setting and it would soon be dark out, in the Spirit World.

Aang began to climb up the rocky ground. "How did we get here?!" He yelled up at his friend; while dodging a rock that had slipped from under Airis's foot.

Airis flinched at her mistake "Sorry. And oh, I just asked to come here!" She said continuing up the mountain.

Aang nodded and followed the route Airis had taken. "I'll take that as Avatar slash Spirit stuff."

Airis laughed as she sat on a ledge and waited for Aang to catch up with her.

After a long while, Airis's hand finally touched the surprisingly flat, peat of the mountain. She hauled herself up and then Aang who collapsed next her. She smiled down at the exhausted airbender.

"Not being able to bend sucks" Aang said sitting up next to Airis. Airis just smiled and sat up. She helped Aang up and smiled "It's not that bad once you get used to it. Anyway, let's go see where my mom is. She should be around here somewhere."

Aang turned around to see a blanket of fog. "Okay, how are we supposed to find our way through here without bending, we're going to walk right off the mountain!"

Airis smiled down at Aang "Easy just...MOM I'M BACK!!" She called out through the fog

Aang covered his ears and stared in amazement as the fog suddenly lifted. Airis smiled and walked onward. Aang shook his head and followed her.

The fog completely lifted to see a woman that looked about the age of 45, sitting at a low table, slowly pouring tea into a couple of teacups. The woman had dark brown hair like Aang and Airis and she had an arrow tattoo on her forehead. The rest of the tattoos were covered by the long sleeves and skirt of her Air Nomad clothing. She looked up at them and smiled warmly.

"Airis" She said in a comforting tone. She stood up and opened her arms to her daughter.

Airis rushed over and hugged her mother; smiling into her silky hair. Chen pushed Airis back to look at her. "I haven't seen you since Roku told you not to kill Ozai. My you've grown."

Airis smiled and motioned Aang to come over. "Mom, this is Aang. I think you remember him."

Aang bowed politely "It is an honour to see you again, Master Chen." He smiled at the woman, and she placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Good to see you too, Avatar Aang. And please call me-" Chen froze and turned Airis. "You're here for the answer to your question, aren't you?"

Airis nodded formally and Chen sighed. "Please sit down, Gyatso will be here in a few minutes."

"Gyatso!" Aang said perking up, at the name of his old master. He would see Gyatso again!

"Gyatso?" Airis questioned, sitting down next to her mom.

Chen poured some more tea. "Yes, he's apart of this too." She said; keeping her voice formal. "So, while we're waiting, what are you two up to?" She asked handing Aang a cup.

"Well, right now we're in the Fire Nation and Airis is teaching me firebending and about my Avatar Spirit." Aang said sipping his tea. It was jasmine and pretty good, too.

Chen looked towards her daughter "I hope she does fairly well, she hasn't really taught anyone before. You're only her second pupil, I think, that Beifong earthbender was your first, right Airis?" She said drinking her tea.

"You taught Toph?" Aang asked putting down his tea.

Airis nodded "When I was traveling with the benders. I met Toph and taught her a couple of things."

Chen cocked her head. "You've met Toph, Aang?"

"She's my earthbending teacher." Aang answered, smiling.

Chen raised her eyebrows and looked over at her daughter.

"Actually I also taught his waterbending teacher, Katara, some healing techniques a little while ago." Airis confirmed, smiling at her mother.

"Isn't Katara that girl you met when you were in the Southern Water Tribe?" Chen asked furrowing her eyebrows. Airis nodded and sipped her tea. Chen sat back. "Small world isn't it, children?"

Airis laughed a little, and Aang let go of a small laugh too. Suddenly, they heard some unnatural wind behind Aang and they turned around to see an old man appear on the mountain in front of them.

Gyatso closed his eyes and smelled the air "I could smell your delicious jasmine tea, all the way from the south mountains, Chen-" he was interrupted when Aang sat up and in a flash had his arms wrapped around the old man.

"Gyatso, I missed you so much." Aang said tightening his arms around the old man.

"Aang!" Gyatso said smiling "Why are you here? Not that I'm complaining." He looked up from Aang, smiling, and saw Chen giving him a sympathetic look, with her daughter sitting next to her smiling. He frowned at his realization.

"Oh…" Gyatso said leading Aang back to table. "I'm guessing it's time to tell them"

Chen nodded as Gyatso sat next to Aang and across from Chen.

"Airis, Aang, there is no easy way to tell you this." Chen said taking Aang and Airis's hands in her own.

"Mom" Airis said looking her mother's eyes. "Why are there two Avatars this cycle?"

Chen looked away from the two Avatars to Gyatso. "How are we supposed to tell them this?" She asked the old man.

Gyatso shook his head and sighed. "Aang" He put his arm around the boy "Airis" He looked towards the sixteen year old; who for once was the person being confused and not the person causing the confusion.

Gyatso rubbed the back of his neck "When you two where umm…conceived. The Avatar Spirit entered both of you…"

Airis narrowed her eyes. She knew they were hiding something. "We know that, the question is why?" She asked suspicously

_To hell with this! _Chen thought as she gritted her teeth. _Let's just get this over with!_ Chen took a deep breath that caught the attention of her daughter and Aang. "Becauseyoutwosharedthesamewomb" She said quickly, and then she slapped her hand over her mouth. _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! _She scolded herself.

Aang and Airis's jaws dropped. "Wha...?" Aang and Airis's voices barely over a whisper, their eyes and the corners of their mouths started to twitch. 

Gyatso remained calm; he had expected this reaction "You are twins, that's why the Avatar Spirit entered both of you. The Avatar has never been reincarnated to have been twins. You two are the first."

Aang and Airis stared at the elders and then themselves "We are twins?" They asked, still as confused as Sokka is about the girls.

Gyatso and Chen nodded.

"We are twins…we are twins…we are twins?" They repeated; the sentence still not making full sense to the Avatars.

"You're serious?" They asked simultaneously. The older Air Nomads smiled weakly and nodded. Aang and Airis breathed out a laugh and jumped into each others arms.

Aang looked up at Airis's eyes; a mirror of his own, matching grey, sparkling with tears and their own spirit. He should have known, he guessed he kinda always did know, in a way.

Aang ran over the recent events in his head. "That means…I have a family?" He asked cautiously.

Airis smiled and nodded "I'm your sister!! That means you're my brother!!" She yelled before picking Aang up and swinging him around in a circle. They laughed their hearts out. Almost unable to comprehend that he had a family and she Airis had a sibling.

"That means Chen is my mother, right?" Aang said when Airis finally stopped twirling him around. He smiled hopefully at Chen and the elder Nomad smiled warmly and nodded.

Aang smiled wider (if that was humanly possible) "I have a mother!" He yelled as he hugged Airis tightly and ran over to his long-lost mom. Chen hugged her son as tightly as she could and Aang did the same to his mom; both of them smiling as wide as they could, with tears staining their cheeks, enjoying every moment of the reunion.

Airis stood back smiling like an idiot and looked over at Gyatso. "Wait a minute. If Aang and I are twins and you're our mother. Then who's our dad?" She said crossing her arms.

Gyatso cleared his throat, wrapped his arm around Chen and kissed her forehead proudly. "I am" He answered her question simply and smiled at his stunned daughter and son.

"Gyatso! You're our dad?!" They said, again simultaneously.

Gyatso and Chen both stood up. Aang still clinging onto his mother like his life depended on it. They opened their arms wide and Airis ran into the family hug and looked up at her father "No offence, but you're so old" Gyatso and Chen laughed.

Chen sighed as she held onto her children. "I'm so sorry that we were all separated when you were just babies. I never wanted it to be like that; but the monks forced us apart. At least Aang, you were with Gyatso and Airis, you were with me. They only let us back together again when it came time for you two to fully realize your unique powers to help the world in its up coming need."

Aang and Airis nodded remembering their major role in the war torn world, but just as soon as the thought came they pushed it to the back of their minds. A single tear fell off each of their cheeks; they were no longer without common blood in this world. Soon the eyes of Gyatso and Chen were uselessy holding back the flood of tears that came with the satisfaction, happiness, and relief to be finally able to hold their children.

And for the first time in 112 years, their family was truly reunited.

* * *

AN- Bet you guys weren't expecting that, huh? 

Life is full of those little surprises like that isn't it? ;) Oh and if your wondering about Gyatso being a super old dad. I have seen it happen. One of my friends had a really old dad and it was like a miracle she was born. So it is possible. And the being a monk part…Well seeing Gyatso in the episodes he was in, I have to bet that he did break some of the rules, if you catch my drift. Hehe…yep I know I'm weird and I love it :D

I took me forever to find an ending that I actually found good, so anyway hoped you all liked this chap :)

Review!! Please!!

Loving all reviews. So please, please, please review! It really helps the up coming chapters :) And we all want that now don't we? (sneaky smile)

REVIEW!! You know you want to. I know you want too…hehehe (shifty eyes)


	19. The Capital's Streets

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA

AN- First off... I AM SO, SO, SO, SORRY!!!! for posting this late! My lovely little computer decided to break down on me and i had to fix it. That, and school is evil. Pure, completly insane, EVIL! I am on overload for the next three weeks!

So yeah... I hope you enjoy this chap! Thanks, too, for all the reviews!

Chapter 19

Family; Aang had finally found his family. He never knew it he would have found it with Airis, Monk Gyatso, and Master Chen. Though, now that he thought about it, they had pretty well already been his family; one hundred years ago back at the Jongmu Air Temple. He had played and trained along side Airis, Chen was always there to give him words of comfort and advice and Gyatso had always been there for him whatever it might have been. He was glad they were his true family and he wouldn't have it any other way, even though Gyatso and Chen were, truly, both dead.

It was time for him and Airis to leave their parents and return back to the Fire Nation, where Sokka, Toph, and Katara were waiting for him and his long lost sister. Aang gave his 'new' mother a final hug and stepped back. Gyatso came over to him, patted him on the back and chuckled. Aang smiled and looked up at his father "You know, I always thought we had a stronger bond then most masters and students. I guess now I know why" He said cheerfully.

Gyatso smiled down at his son. Airis came over and patted him on the back. "C'mon Katara is probably worried sick about you. We better head back." She said, smiling. Chen cocked her head and Gyatso lifted an eyebrow and smiled knowingly.

Aang smiled and looked back at Gyatso and Chen. They were holding hands and smiling. Aang looked back at Airis "Yeah let's go"

Airis wrapped her arm around his shoulders and laughed. "Bye mom! Bye Gy- uhh…dad!" Airis said starting to walk over to the edge of the mountain. Aang waved good-bye to his parents and followed Airis.

"Wait!" Chen said following her children. They immediately turned around and waited for their mother to continue.

"Here" Chen said holding her arms out like she was about to catch something falling out the sky. Aang and Airis cocked their heads at their mother. Suddenly a two pairs of Air Nomad robes materialized in her arms. "Take these back with you. When you make your final stand, wear these robes to show that Air Nomads can kick butt too" She said handing the robes to Airis and Aang.

"They are not just for that," Gyatso said smiling. "They are spiritual robes that will help you keep your calm during the most intense moments in battle" He said walking up behind Chen.

Aang and Airis took the robes and bowed in thanks. The family hugged one last time and Chen finally allowed her children to return to the place where they were needed most.

Airis and Aang crawled over the side of the mountain and made their slow descent down the rocky slope.

Aang made his way through the bamboo thicket that had suddenly appeared when they had finally touched solid ground at the base of the mountain. Airis was in front of him guiding their way through the dense stalks.

Airis turned around, walking backwards holding both the sacred robes close to her chest. "Well, I guess that answer's that question. We're friggin twins!"

Aang smiled "Yeah, and I have a real family now."

Airis stopped walking and put her one of her hands on his shoulder "Aang, don't forget Gyatso and Chen are dead, we are still in the Spirit World."

Aang frowned and looked away "I know" He turned his head and smiled at Airis "At least I have a sister."

Airis laughed, draping her free arm around his shoulders. "Yep, come on let's hurry back to the platform. I bet you can't wait to tell _Katara_ and the rest of the gang about this, little-buddy"

Aang blushed. His sister knew he had a crush, and taking from Sokka and Katara he guessed that it wasn't such a good thing. But then again it was Sokka and Katara and things could be different with him and Airis.

They ran the rest of the way through the bamboo. He knew he looked like an idiot but he couldn't stop smiling. He had a family and that sentence wouldn't stop running around in his head; like a song. He couldn't wait to tell Katara.

Just then he tripped on a large tree root and flew out of the bamboo stalks into the swamp were they had first came from, and landed face first into the water… again. Airis came up beside him and laughed.

Aang rolled his eyes and hauled himself up. "Yeah this is real funny. I dying of laughter" Aang said as he picked off water plants and weird bugs.

Airis patted his back "Yeah it is when you're not the one who got a mouth full of swamp water"

Aang scrapped the water off of his shirt and looked up at Airis "Race ya to the platform." He dared his sister.

Airis smirked and shifted the clothes in her arms "I'll let you win this time"

Aang cocked his head "At least try…" He prolonged the sentence as he tried to think of something embarrassing to call her. Airis crossed her arms over the robes and waited for him to continue. Aang suddenly smiled maniacally. "… Miss ostrich-horse" he taunted sprinting towards the platform.

"Hey, I didn't mean to blow it up! It was an accident!" Airis called after him, taking shorter strides then usual to avoid messing up the sacred robes she was holding.

"Sure!" Aang yelled as he neared the platform.

Airis jumped through the water; keeping an eye on the twelve-year old. She smiled, it was just like back at the temple; chasing each other up and down the halls and mountains, as they both tried to forget their heavy responsibilities by replacing it with fun and care-free and well, stupid adventures.

Airis was ripped out of her thoughts when she ran into the hard boards of the platform, her abdomen taking the worst hit. The clothes went flying into Aang's arms and the wind was knocked out of her. She fell back into the swamp and hauled herself back up as quickly as she could to avoid drowning. She collapsed on the platform gasping for air like a fish out of water. Airis finally caught her breath and turned over on her stomach. She looked up at Aang who was laughing his heart out.

"You're right, it is funny when it doesn't happen to you" He managed through his hysterics, dropping the robes and clutching his stomach.

Airis stood up and squeezed the water out of her hair and smirked down at her brother "Laugh it up lover boy; you gotta deal with your _girlfriend_ when we get back!" Airis clasped her hands together and batted her eyelashes.

Aang blushed and frowned. "She doesn't even know I exist. I'm just her friend who happens to be the Avatar. I doubt she even thinks about me anymore than that."

Airis picked up the robes Aang had dropped "And you've talked to her about this, then?"

Aang looked away from Airis and stuttered "Well…No-"

"Then how do you know for sure?" Airis interrupted raising an eyebrow.

Aang pulled at his shirt collar. "Well…I…uh…don't"

Airis cocked her head and smiled as if saying 'See I told you so'

"But-but, before when we traveling to the North Pole. Katara said 'I was just a friend, just like Momo'" Aang stuttered.

Airis shook her head and smirked "It's called 'not realizing her feelings, yet'. And if she already had feelings for you then, she might have not wanted Sokka to know that she had a crush. Boys tend to not be so um…how can I put this nicely? Ah screw it! Most guys will use a crush for crud like black-mail stuff like that. She might have wanted to avoid that and plus you guys were being chased by Prince Zuko then, right? Starting a relationship while someone was chasing you all around the world is kinda hard. Do you get the picture?" Airis asked.

Aang looked away, a light blush tinting his cheeks "I guess"

Airis sat down on the platform and closed her eyes; the robes resting in her hands. "Good, so it's agreed, as soon as we get back its 'We're twins and I love you, Katara'"

Aang jumped back "Whoa wait! I didn't say anything about that!" Airis smirked in her meditative state and slowly began to fade away.

"Airis, wait!" He said trying to grab her fading figure, but she was long gone. Aang pouted "Stupid sisters" He mumbled under his breath as he followed Airis back to the other world.

* * *

Katara yawned and stretched her cramped muscles. She had been here for hours and Aang and Airis were still not back. She leaned back on the wall and stared into the fire as the rhythmic throbbing glow of Aang and Airis tattoos, continued. She wondered what exactly they were doing in the Spirit World and what the hell Airis would have wanted to do there that included Aang. Katara's eyes widened. No, that couldn't be.

Katara clutched her heart. Airis was trying to take Aang away from her. Airis knew that she loved him and that he might even love her. If Airis wanted Aang… she must have brought him to the Spirit World, where Katara wouldn't be able to get in her way.

Katara's vision blurred. No, no, no! Aang loved her, not Airis. Katara bit her hand to stop herself from crying. Who was she kidding? Of course Aang loved Airis! Why didn't she see it coming? Katara hit her forehead with the heel of her palms she gritted her teeth. How could she have been so blind? Sokka was right; Airis was a stupid, plotting, evil, Fire Nation killer.

Katara choked back sobs and pressed harder against the wall. An unnoticed tear fell on Katara's hand. What was wrong with her? Airis wasn't trying to take Aang away from her! She had been her friend and she actually supported Katara in her seemingly impossible love for Aang. Why was she so against Airis and Aang spending time with each other? They are the last airbenders. They… they were friends when they were kids!

_Because you see them,_ Her inner self piped up_ getting closer and closer. And more and more you think of yourself as not enough for Aang. The thing is sweetie, you guys fit perfectly together. Airis can see that and she wants you two to be together. Open your eyes!!!_

_But what if… _

'_But what if' what!!?? You and Aang love each other. Airis, the only one NOT blind here, supports you, NOT trying to drive a wedge between you two!! Why can't you see that?!_

Katara was silent at herself for a moment.

_If you don't believe then just ask the moment they come. And I will make sure you do. There is no way around this, Katara! This all ends here._

Before she could argue against herself, the blue glow that had conquered the room slowly began to fade. Katara looked up and saw Aang and Airis's tattoos starting to fade back under the cover of the weird dirt and some robes began to materialize in Airis' arms, they looked like airbender robes. Katara stood up gently touching the sheathed swords at her hip. She exhaled deeply. This was it.

Her conscience decided to give her a little pep talk anyway. _Okay, the moment their back you say 'What the hell is going on? And don't leave anything out.' And after that it's 'Aang I love you' _

Katara bit her lip as the glowing subsided with a painful slowness. _I can't do that! _

_Yes you can!_

_No I can't!_

_Yes you can!_

_No I can't!_

_Too late, here they come! _Her inner self smiled cheerfully.

_Oh crap, oh crap, OH CRAP!_ A bead of sweat fell off her forehead as the glow finally stopped and Airis blinked her eyes open. She shook her head coming out of her daze and smiled up at Katara.

"Hey" she said cheerfully as if nothing had happened. She placed the robes gently beside her "Man, have we got some freaky news for you! Trust me you'll never guess what happened." She laughed "I'd tell you, but, I think I'll let Aang do the talking" She turned toward Aang and smiled.

Katara nodded. She took a step forward and her scabbard brushed against her leg. Katara looked down at her swords as they clicked into her memory. _Right. No more secrets._ She thought as she set her eyes on Airis.

Airis cocked her head; a question was pretty aparrent on her face. _What's up with you?_

Katara flinched _Crap! Stupid mind powers!_

Airis smirked _Heard that._

Katara rubbed the back of her neck and laughed nervously. "Uh…yeah about that"

Airis smiled at her predicament. She looked over at Aang; his tattoos had finally faded away completely "Oh, look who's here!" She exclaimed gesturing towards Aang. "Now you guys can talk, hook up, get married, have kids and live happily ever after." She said standing up and walking over to Katara.

The heat ran up to Katara's face and she looked away laughing nervously. Airis smiled at this and shook her head. _How clueless are these two?!_

Pushing her thoughts aside, Airis placed her hand on Katara's shoulders "Brace yourself; he has got A LOT to talk about." Katara scrunched her face up. Airis laughed and turned to face Aang.

Aang eyes blinked open and he jumped up. "Airis, I have to go find Katara!" He yelled scanning over the room in the opposite direction of the girls.

Airis shook her head at his pathetic display "Um…Aang. She's right here" She said jerking her thumb at Katara.

Aang jumped around and ran over to Katara. "Katara, Katara, Katara! Guess what?" he said jumping up and down.

Katara felt as though a rock had been suddenly dropped inside her stomach. Giving a weak smile she mananged a cracked "What, Aang?" without letting a tear slip. _Please don't say it, please don't say it! I love you, Aang! Me, I do!_

Her subconscious crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. _Yeah, good start but you have to open your mouth and make the right sounds come out so he knows it too._

Katara ignored the little voice. Airis smirked at her thoughts. The little voice inside Katara's head was doing exactly what she would have done. _Guess only half of Katara is like that. _Airis thought as she put her hands on Aang's shoulders to stop him from hopping.

"Well, go ahead!" Airis told Aang. "Don't leave her in the dark!" She letting go of his shoulders.

Katara tried to steady her breath. But she only exhaled raggedly. Katara braced herself. She was ready for what he was going to say. _I love Airis, I love Airis, I love Airis, that's what he's going to say, I love Airis. _She ran around and around in her head preparing herself.

Aang took a deep breath and Katara flinched. _Nooooo!! I'm not ready for it. AANG, I LOVE YOU!!!_

"Airis and I …ARE TWINS!!!" Aang yelled as he hugged Katara.

Everything inside Katara smashed. She had NOT been expecting that! "Whoa… wait... what!?" Katara said pushing Aang back and looking back and forth from him and Airis.

_Isn't that just perfect for you now? _Her subconscious remarked smugly.

Katara froze up. "But you're sixteen and you're twelve. That's impossible"

Airis smiled and draped her arm around Katara's shoulders. "Well, a hundred years ago I was twelve and so was Aang. And _technically_ we are both 112 years old. Remember Aang was in the iceberg for a hundred years, I was in the rock for almost 95 years. "

"She's my sister, Katara!" Aang said hugging the waterbender. Katara let go of a breathy laugh and hugged the airbender back.

Katara smiled and shook her head. "Aang that's great!" _They're brother and sister! That explains why they got along so well and that means…Aang loves Airis like a sister not a lover! That means he could love me! _

"So because you were twins the Avatar Spirit entered both of you? Is that why there're two of you? Avatars, I mean." Katara asked still shaking her head at the unbelievable news

Aang nodded happily, hopping up and down again.

"How did you guys find out?" Katara asked holding Aang's shoulders.

Airis walked up to the two benders. "We found my…er our mom in the Spirit World and she told us everything."

Katara looked over at Aang her eyes still wide. "You met your mom, Aang?"

Aang smiled and nodded quickly. "Yeah! Master Chen, she was Airis' Master. I spent a lot of time with her a hundred years ago."

"You saw her painting on the wall of the Temple on the island" Airis said pointed out.

Katara nodded slowly remembering the painting in the hallway with the woman's arms around a younger version of Airis. Now that she thought about it that woman did look a lot like Aang.

"Do you know who your dad is?" Katara asked, trying to fill in the blanks of the conversation.

Aang nodded his head vigorously "Gyatso!" He said spreading his arms wide.

"That man who has his statue at the Southern Air Temple? You're airbending Master?"

"Yeah! I can't believe it. Gyatso was my dad! This is so awesome! Where are Sokka and Toph? I want to tell them everything, too!" Aang said jumping and running toward the door.

"There out exploring the city" Katara reached out her hand to him, worried at what he might do to find their friends.

"Well then let's go find them. I think we could all use some fresh air" Airis said as picked up the robes and followed Aang. "Just let me put these in a safe place" She said pressing the robes to her chest.

"What are those?" Katara asked walking out the door. Aang bolted down the hallway itching to find Sokka and Toph.

"Don't forget you have training tomorrow! Don't wear yourself out"" Airis called after her newly found brother.

"I won't!" He called back as he turned a corner. Airis shook her head and laughed softly.

Katara looked at Airis waiting for her answer "Oh yeah! They're spiritual robes" Airis answered catching step with Katara and showing her the clothing. "Our parents gave them to us, for the uh…invasion."

"I thought Air Nomads were peaceful." Katara asked thoughtfully.

Airis hung her head. "Yeah, I know. But for the war, every single Nation has had to bend a different way to survive. Even though we're technically extinct, the Air Nomads are still not free from the affects of the war; same as the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, and even the Fire Nation." She ended in a low voice.

Katara looked away nervously, biting her lip. What would happen during the invasion? Would they finally defeat the Fire Lord? Would the world lose its last hope for peace? So much was at stake… Katara shook her head. Now was not the time to think about that type of stuff.

After a while Airis turned her head to look at Katara "Do you believe me now?" She asked.

Katara stopped and looked up at the older girl. "Believe what?"

"That I wasn't trying to take Aang away from you. I know you saw a bond between us that you didn't like. But Katara he's like my brother…well now he is my brother." Airis giggled as she opened the door to her room.

Katara stared at the floor as Airis opened a dresser drawer and placed the robes inside. "I guess so. It's not like you would go after your own brother or something." Katara laughed then froze. "Wait, would you?"

Airis laughed. "No Katara. Even though here, I may be known as a blood thirsty killer, I still have morals and that kinda breaks all of them"

Katara laughed nervously and sighed "I'm sorry," She said letting her arms hang down limply.

Airis cocked her head. "For what? Being over protective? Katara, you've known Aang longer then I have, you even love him. You have a right to protective of Aang and I want you to know I only care for him like a brother. That's all." She said closing the drawer and placing a hand on Katara's shoulder.

Katara smiled softly and looked away from the airbender. "It's just…Aang is the greatest thing to happen to me in so long. I just can't bear the thought of losing him."

Airis smiled. "I know you can't" Katara lifted her head her sad eyes meeting the natural comfort of Airis'. They two girls smiled hopefully.

Airis patted her shoulder. "C'mon let's go find Aang before he gets himself killed" Airis said lightly, wrapping her arm around Katara's shoulders.

Katara's eyes widened and she jerked away from the airbender. Airis rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding! C'mon let's just go before…um yeah, let's just go" She said leading Katara out the door.

* * *

The city was bustling with activity as Katara and Airis squeezed their way through the streets, following Aang's trail.

"How do we know this is where Aang went, again?" Katara asked over the constant hum of the voices surrounding them.

"Mind powers, remember?" Airis said heading down another street.

Katara nodded "Right" She recalled as she pushed past some people who were doing some loud bartering.

"You want to head to the roofs? It'll be a lot easier than trying to find them up there than down here." Airis asked pointing at the flat roofs of the Fire Nation house. The girls ran to a pile of boxes stacked against a building's wall and easily made their way up.

"Let's go" Katara said beginning to run over the roofs.

Regrettably, the sun was much hotter on the rooftops. The tiles seemed to be reflecting and magnifying the heat. Katara could feel a thin layer of sweat already beginning to form on her forehead. She had grown up in a much colder climate and the Fire Nation was a large change from what she had become accustomed to.

After a long while, Katara could feel her energy draining frantically as the heat finally began to take its major toll on the waterbender. She managed to keep her eyes from closing as she kept on running next to Airis

"Do you see where Aang is yet?" Katara asked as she wiped the sweat off her forehead and jumped to another roof.

"No" Airis groaned scanning the streets below them. Katara looked at the airbender. The heat had almost no apparent effect on the airbender; then again she had lived in the Fire Nation for a year.

Katara stopped when she heard Airis perch herself on a roof corner and smirk. Katara pushed some hair out of her face as she caught her breath. Airis placed her hand on the roof for balance and nodded at the street beneath them. "But I do see Sokka… at .a fire flakes stand. Why, am I not surprised?" She said shaking her head "Do you want to go save the vender?" Airis asked as she hopped down off the roof.

Katara laughed "Yeah, I don't think he deserves to be punished this severely." She said as she landed promptly next to Airis. They two girls tried to control their giggles as made their way through the annoyingly thick crow.

Sokka bought another bag of fire flakes and shoved a hand full into his mouth. _Five bags in a row! Boy, I can take the heat! Woo hoo, I rock! Go me, go me! Wait, maybe it's my sixth? It doesn't matter. Go me! _Sokka began to hear some footsteps behind him coming closer and closer, but his discarded them for just another customer. He heard the footsteps stop short of him and he turned around to see Airis and Katara standing there with both their arms crossed.

"Hey guys!" He said through a mouthful of the food.

His sister rolled her eyes "How many of those have you eaten so far?" Katara asked pointing at the bag of flakes.

Sokka shoved another handful in his mouth. "I think this is my fifth, could be sixth."

Katara rolled her eyes. _Of course_. "Have you seen Aa-Kuzon?" Katara corrected herself when she saw the vender behind Sokka, who had turned his attention to some new customers.

"Not today." Sokka shook his head "Wasn't he with you training or something?" Sokka said nodding at Airis.

"Yeah, but he got so excited about some news, that he went to go find you guys." Airis explained.

Sokka stopped eating and narrowed his eyes. "What news?" He asked suspiciously as he swallowed some fire flakes.

Airis scanned the streets around them before she turned back to Sokka. "Not here, there are too many people. Let's go find Kuzon and Jun. Where is Jun anyway?"

Sokka shrugged. "Playing some game, she seems pretty good at it, too."

Katara nodded "Let's go find them, then."

"What game was she playing?" Airis asked trying to get a clue of where she might be.

Sokka shook the bag trying to get the remains of the fire flakes. "That game you know with the three shells and the little rock that you try and find after the person moves all the shells around. That game… guy… whatever."

Airis nodded "I know where they play that. C'mon guys" Airis said walking towards an alley.

"Sure, I'll be right with you, just one more bag" Sokka said turning towards the vender.

"No" Katara scolded grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the stand.

"But they're so good!" Sokka whined as Katara let go of his arm. He followed the girls further down the alley. "I need my food! I'm a growing man!" He yelled down the darkened street.

"Come on, Lee!" Katara called back at him.

"Hmph" Sokka sulked as the girls ran out of his sight. He sighed, knowing that putting up a fight against those two was a lost cause.

Sokka scanned over the alley he was in. A deep growling sound suddenly cut the eerie silence. He turned in the direction of the sound and grabbing the hilt his sword, he carefully placed his footsteps as not to make to much sound. Sokka peered into the box were the growling was coming from. It became deeper and angrier. He tried to focus through the darkness of the large box. Straining, he caught sight of a folded back pair of black ears.

A panther-cat jumped out of a garbage box and tackled him. Sokka hit the wall of the alley, hitting his head hard. He moaned in pain as he noticed that all he could do was watch as the blurry picture of the panther crawled up to him, growling heavily and swishing his tail menacingly.

Suddenly, a person landed heavily in front of Sokka and pulled out their broad swords. The cat swung its paws at the newcomer and roared. It lowered itself, readying for a jump.

The person lowered too keeping eye contact with the cat. The two circled each other as Sokka stared on. His vision clearing as the staring contest wore on. Sokka's brain was yelling at him to get up, knock the guy and the cat unconscious, but his body wouldn't comply. Giving up on his own battle, Sokka continued staring at the fight going on in front of him.

He noticed that the person who had just appeared was wearing black clothing that stuck to his body like Momo on moon peaches and that it was man. His broad shoulders and flat chest told Sokka that story. The mans face was hidden under the cover of what looked like red paint, with white designs coming out from under the tight hood he was wearing. The designs spiralled across his face and ended at his jaw. His eyes were covered by a dark cloth that probably allowed him to see, but hid his eyes completely none the less

The cat finally launched his attack aiming for the man's throat. But the stranger ducked just in time and sliced the animal's pitch black front leg; its dark blood spilling on the ground in front of Sokka.

The cat landed heavily on the ground and hissed sharply at its opponent. It picked itself up growling angrily and limped away down the alley. The man stared after the cat preparing himself if the beast came back.

When the cat disappeared around the corner, and the man was assured that the panther-cat wasn't coming back, turned his attention on Sokka. Gripping his broad swords tighter and he walked over to the young warrior.

Sokka glared at the man's cloth covered eyes as he stood up, preparing to unleash his sword. They were both trying to stare the other down, waiting to see who would make the first move.

They both turned around sharply when they heard two pairs of footsteps running towards them. Sokka panicked. _Katara and Airis! This guy is too dangerous. I have to get rid of him! _He turned to attack the man, but the stranger who had been there a moment ago had disappeared into thin air and all that was left of all that had happened was the bloodstain on the ground in front of Sokka.

"Lee, come on! You're slower then a tortoisnail!" Katara yelled on the other side of the alley. Sokka looked down at the tell-tale bloodstain and back at Katara. Airis was standing there now with her arms crossed, her eyes curiously studying him, as if trying to search for his excuse in his features.

"Uh…" Sokka looked back and forth from the blood puddle to the girls "Coming!" Sokka called out as he stepped around the pool of blood. He decided against telling them what had happened. They wouldn't believe him if he told them and if they did… they would probably go looking for the guy. Sokka clenched his teeth. He would not let that guy hurt Katara. He had promised dad. Sokka would just have to let this weird experience go; this time.

* * *

Aang ran threw the busy streets of the Fire Nation capital, ducking under boxes and squirming his way through the crowds. It seemed as though he was in a market place of some sort. Aang was continuously scanning his eyes over the crowds searching for Sokka's brown hair, dark skin and blue eyes and Toph's poofy, jet black hair. So far no such luck. He hadn't even run into Katara and Airis again.

_Katara…_ Aang sighed inside his head. What a beautiful name… it fit her so well. _Katara_… Aang shook his head, dragging himself out of his own world. Suddenly Aang Straitened his shoulders and smiled from ear to ear, he was going to tell her today! Laughing, he jumped over a crate full of fish. It was going so well, why not? Aang smiled. Nothing could screw this day up!

Aang punched the air as he ran deeper into the market. He felt as though he could do anything with Katara and Airis by his side. The girl he loved and his twin. His life, right now, couldn't get any better!

All of a sudden Aang felt something grab his arm. The abrupt stop caused him to fly back landing hard on his butt. The person who had stopped him moved in front him and spat on the ground.

"What?" He groaned as he rubbed his head.

"Where's the fire?" A familiar voice said as they held out their hand to Aang. Aang smiled, he knew that voice.

"Toph?" Aang asked as he stood up.

"Duh!" She answered as she crossed her arms, and blew some hair out of her face; even though it was completely useless falling instantly back in front of her eyes.

Aang jumped. "Toph! You'll never guess what happened with me and Ai-"

Toph clamped her hand over his mouth. "Fake names remember?!" She whispered harshly as she 'glared' at him; pulling him back to the sidewalk.

"Wight" was all Aang could manage through Toph's small, yet surprisingly thick hand.

Toph smirked and took her hand back, wiping it on her shirt. "Oh and I already know what happened. _Phoenix_ told me last night." She strained.

"What?! But she- we only found out about an hour ago." He stuttered.

Toph shook her head "Un-uh. She knew about…um say" She pretended to be thoughtful for a moment "a hundred years ago!" Toph yelled in his face.

Aang narrowed his eyes. "That's impossible. She was just as shocked as I was when we found out."

Toph rolled her eyes. "Oh yes of course, and pretending to be shocked when you teach someone else about their mind-powers is SO difficult"

"What are you taking about?" Aang asked bluntly as he raised an eyebrow.

Toph's sightless eyes widened "Wait, she didn't teach you about your mind-powers"

Aang stepped back and grabbed his head. "I have mind-powers!?" He yelled his eyes budging out of his head.

Toph laughed nervously "Guess I kinda ruined the surprise there, huh?"

Aang shook his head, taking his hands off of his head and letting them sag next to him. "Why didn't she tell me?"

Toph patted his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smiled.

Aang looked up at his friend and smiled. "This is awesome!" He yelled as he threw his hands in the air.

Toph took a step back. "Okay…" She said slowly, not exactly sure what to make of the situation.

"C'mon we have to go find her!" Aang said grabbing her arm and running back down the street.

"HEY! YOU TWO!!" A man yelled at them.

Aang and Toph turned around to see two soldiers run up to them, their heavy feet slamming on the ground like pillars. Both of them had large beards and a terrible smell following them.

"Is there a problem?" Aang asked innocently.

One of them smirked "Yeah" He spat.

"What exactly are you two kids doing out here without your folks? Playing hooky are we?" The other man asked as he walked up to Aang and smiled menacingly. Aang narrowed his eyes and glared at the man.

Toph raised her fist at the guy. "We can take care of our selves' just fine!"

The man looked away from Aang and smirked at Toph "The blind bitch is mouthy. What do you say we do with her?" He said looking back at the other soldier.

He smirked "Why don't we teach her a lesson." The soldier said as he walked up behind Toph. Aang quickly stepped between Toph and the soldier.

"Get away from her!" Aang stated sharply, as he glowered angrily at the soldier.

The man laughed. "And what are you going to do about it?" He smirked, poking Aang in the chest.

Toph smirked. "This!" She yelled as she flicked a knife out of her wrist band and flung it at the man in front of her. The man yelled as he flew back to the wall and realized he was pinned there. The citizens around them stopped what they were doing and gasped.

The soldier in front of Aang was still gawking at the scene Toph had created. Aang smirked. He quickly moved around him, and extending his legs he tripped him.

Toph laughed at Aang's work. "C'mon let's go before more of those losers show up" Toph said jerking her thumb towards the street which was now held a crowd that had now completely stopped their daily activities to gape at the two. Aang grabbed Toph's arm and led her through the crowd and down an alley way.

"You little bastards! Come back" The man that Toph had pinned to the wall yelled as he pulled against the knife that held him there.

Toph laughed at his struggle; until she felt multiple pairs of vibrations running straight towards them. She tugged Aang in the opposite direction and they ran through a different alley; jumping over boxes until they reached the other side. The soldiers stampeded down the alley.

Toph's eyes widened. "Oh, crap!" She said as she pulled Aang to a stop. Another group of soldiers were blocking their exit.

"Were do you think your going?" A man smirked as he sent a fireball at them.

Aang dodged it and ran up some boxes. _No bending, no bending, no bending._ Aang constantly reminded himself. He jumped off the wall and over the men; grabbing a spear from one of them in the process and kicking as many as he could in the head.

Toph smirked and sent some shuriken at the men. As they deflected them she ran up slipping quickly over to the other side while dodging the attacks from the unaffected men.

The soldiers from behind them joined up against them. Aang and Toph found themselves back to back, surrounded by the soldiers. The soldiers laughed at their odds and went for Aang, pulling out their swords or sending fireballs. With help from the spear, Aang deflected all of them. Easily destroying the weak fireballs and flipping over the men that came too close to him.

Toph continued dodging the men and sending out knife after knife at the precise, most effective moment. Their captain realized this and the soldiers began moving towards Toph to over whelm her. Aang managed to get rid most of the guys running to Toph. But she still felt too many footsteps slamming around her to make up a clear image of who was who. Her attacks became sloppier and sloppier.

Again, Toph and Aang found themselves back to back, surrounded by the remaining soldiers. They were both breathing heavily. They couldn't keep this up; sooner or later they would be forced to use their bending and their cover would be blown.

Toph twitched her ear and moved her foot slightly. "Great" She said as she rolled her eyes and flung out more knives.

"What is it?" Aang asked as he hit a soldier in the gut with his spear. Jumping up, Aang kicked the guy in the head. The man fell to the ground with a thud.

Toph ducked under a guy and tripped him. "Someone's coming. I recognize their vibrations though." She said as she quickly grabbed a couple that had fell to the ground. In her vulnerable state, though, a man suddenly grabbed her arm and swung her into Aang.

Aang turned just in time to see Toph in mid air flying towards him. The next thing he knew they were on the ground with fists and swords pointed at them ready to harm them for any means necessary.

A man walked up to them and spat at the ground close to them. "Not so tough now, are ya, punks?" The man laughed as he held out a flaming hand. Aang glared at the man; silently daring him to hurt. He knew his bluff was going to be called sooner or later, but it was still buying the time.

Aang heard a large thud; as if someone had just jumped off a building, then the metallic sound of swords being drawn. All the soldiers turned around. Aang and Toph took advantage of their distraction and jumped to their feet; Toph grabbing whatever fallen dagger she could reach.

The clashing of metal began again, but Aang still couldn't see who had just joined them.

"KUZON, JUN! Are you alright!?" The mystery person yelled.

"Ka- Xia!" Aang cried as he ran into the soldiers hitting then with as much of his remaining power as he could. He smiled when he saw Katara in the center of the men, holding them back fiercely with her broad swords.

He tried to get closer to Katara, to help her, but more soldiers surrounded him and blocked his path once more. Aang gritted his teeth and crouched low. Spinning his spear he managed to trip almost all of the men surrounding him. The remaining one, Aang slinked quickly behind and flipped him over as well kicking him in the gut in the process, leaving him on the ground moaning.

Aang smiled, happy with the men or well…wimps lying on the ground in front of him, nodding he ran over to help Katara.

Toph smirked at the young Avatar's heroism as she stuck a dagger into a soldiers shoulder and slashed another in the arm with her other hand. The soldiers' numbers had decreased dramatically. Toph herself only had three left to worry about and Aang and Katara had two. She smirked confidently. Yeah, they had pretty much won already.

Toph lowered herself and tripped the man in front of her. When another ran up from behind her, she stabbed him in the abdomen. He fell to the ground instantly; his blood spilling into an ugly puddle next to her. Toph slammed her fist into the fallen mens' head's. She turned around to face her last opponent. He was shaking terribly; she could even hear his teeth clacking and his armour clashing.

She smirked. "Hello" Toph said simply placing her hand in her hip. The man screamed and ran as fast as his legs could carry him out of their 'war zone'.

Toph laughed and turned around to watch Aang and Katara. _Should I help them? _She pondered._ Umm… no, I'll leave them alone. This could be a good show._

Aang and Katara stood back to back; both breathing heavily. The soldiers remaining were non-benders. Aang smiled, this should be easy. Noting the others' hesitation, he made the first move. Sliding in behind the man, he jabbed him in the back with his spear pushing him over to Katara.

Catching onto Aang's plan, Katara sidestepped and the man ran into the other soldiers spear. The spear ricocheted off his armour and smashed into its master's chest. It ended up knocking the wind out of both men.

As the men collapsed into a heap, Aang and Katara smiled at each other, he threw down his spear and Katara wiped the blood off her broad swords on an unconscious man's clothing and sheathed them expertly.

Their eyes met for a moment and they both stared at each other. They were both breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Aang couldn't help but notice how beautiful she still was even though she weary and covered in the blood of others.

Aang's eyes ran over her body; scanning for wounds. He sighed in relief when he found nothing except for a few scrapes. As their eyes met once again, Aang couldn't think about what he would do if anything happened to her.

All was silent and the sound of their harmonized breathing slowly conquered it. There was nothing else except for them; silver and sapphire, the sky and the ocean… endless. Aang sighed at his thoughts. Nothing could break this… nothing.

"WHAT, THE HELL, HAPPENED HERE?!?" Aang's shoulders sagged. Nothing... except for the annoying, wet blanket that had the worst timing in the world and his name was Sokka.

The couple raised their heads to look over to where the sharp voice had come from. Of course, there stood Sokka his eyes scanning rapidly over the soldiers on the ground.

The warrior ran up to them, his eyes not leaving the scene. "What, the hell, happened!?" He asked as he tried to take in prospect of the three of them, fighting and beating Fire Nation soldiers without using their bending.

Aang sighed roughly _Why Sokka? Why?_ He moaned _'Guess this day wasn't meant to be that perfect._

Airis ran up behind Sokka. "Hey guys what's up?" She looked down at the soldiers who were still unable to get up. Surprisingly her expression didn't change. "Nice job! And no bending! Kudos" Airis said nodding.

Toph walked up beside Aang, joining the somewhat conversation. "What happened to you two?" She said pointing in Sokka and Airis' general direction.

Airis rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Hungry boy here got lost and I went looking for him."

Everyone turned and glared at Sokka. He held up his hands defensively. "What?" He replied "Food calls to me." Sokka said motioning with his hands.

Toph punched him in the arm. "I'm sure it does"

"Enough guys," Airis said keeping Sokka arms length from Toph. "Let's head back before more of them show up" The sun had begun to set and most of the capital's citizens were inside at this time, but that didn't mean there were any less soldiers marching the streets.

The group nodded and began to make there way back through the darkened streets of the Fire Nation capital

* * *

Combustion smirked from the rooftop, half hidden by the up coming shadows of dusk.

He had decided just to watch them from afar and only wait for the right prey to stray to far from the group. He continued to stare at the group as the boy with the spiky dark brown hair gradually made his way to the end of the gang. He was probably the youngest of them all and he didn't seem to have any weapons.

Combustion nodded at his agreement. He must be a firebender.

He lifted an eyebrow curiously as the boy he was watching stopped and stared at wall. He quickly tore a sheet of paper off it. He crumpled it up and tucked it away inside his shirt, running back up to the group so that his companions wouldn't notice anything.

Combustion smirked. "Interesting…" He murmured.

Once they were out of sight, Combustion slowly made his to the wall the boy had looked at. There were only posters of one event. He raised his eyebrow. Why the hell would they go there? He smiled. Why would he care? Some time or another they would probably go there and it would be the perfect time for him to see which one Phoenix cared most about. Perhaps if everything went smoothly he could even strike.

Nodding at himself again, he backed up into an alley were the familiar deep shadows consumed him. His plan would be weaving together perfectly, very, very soon.

* * *

AN- Alright :D there's chapter 19!! Wa-hoo SUPER LONG chap! Whoa! What the heck is wrong with me?! HA! 

Sorry, I know the Katara and Aang thingy completely sucked. A LOT. I am terrible with that kind of stuff. So please just bare with me. I'll try and make them better. But if you have any tips I loved to know them!

And oh, yeah I'm sorry to say this but I don't think I'll be able to post the next chap up very soon, now that my weekends have been taken from me. And that I can only work on this during the meager, restricted hours after school. But once I get my weekends back I will post up sooner!

Reviews are completely welcome! You and me both know that. : P

Sooooo? What are you going to do?

(Here's a hint: It starts by pressing a little purple button in the left corner : P)


	20. The Mystery of the Mind

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA

AN- I'M BACK! Yes, I am extremely sorry for putting this story on hold for so frickin long, I really do hate myself for that…-we were supposed to get back from vacation on the 20th but 'family needs to spend more time with family' and we only got back Sunday night, and my extremely crappy laptop died on the second day of the trip. To finish this chap up I locked myself up in my room with my laptop for two days of writing and editing, and Thursday I start school again …yeah, whoo...hoo

But I am back and so is Past Die Hard with a brand new chapter! And just so you guys know, Pasts Die Hard will not ever be deleted and as long as you do not see that little completed sign on the top corner, I will still be working on it!

So enough of this… and on with the fic! Whoohoo! I'm so happy to be back

Chapter 20

"Okay, so, exactly how did you guys end up fighting… A WHOLE ARMY OF FIRE NATION SOLDIERS!?" Sokka yelled as he slammed the door shut and walked up to were Aang and Toph were sitting.

"Take it easy, Sokka" Airis replied calmly as she poured some water into a teapot. She hoped that the simple tea would be enough to cool everyone's nerves down. Not to mention Sokka's, who had been barely able to keep his mouth shut the entire time since the fight they had almost walked in on. Eventually he had settled for fuming until they had reached the house, where he had immediately exploded.

Sokka raised his voice. "Take it easy. Take it easy! They almost blew our cover and got themselves killed. How are we supposed to 'take it easy'?"

Airis sprinkled in some tea leaves. "Simple… because they didn't get caught and they're not dead. Those soldiers probably took them as a bunch of rebel kids. There's nothing to worry about." she said as she placed her hand under the teapot and quickly heated up the tea.

"Crazy is right, Sokka" Toph commented as she flicking an imaginary bug off the table.

Sokka spun back to face Toph, only to be met with a smug grin. Gritting his teeth together, he attempted to find some reason within Airis and Toph's words. But he found none. "Gah!" Sokka yelled as he smacked himself in the face.

Toph smirked at how easy it was to set him off. "Hey, that's my job!" she pointed out.

Sokka continued to grind his teeth. "Don't push it Toph." he grumbled.

Toph pretended to be offended. "Awww, but then that wouldn't be any fun."

Ignoring the two as much as she could, Airis rolled her eyes and walked up to Katara and Aang. "You guys want some tea?" she asked bluntly, sitting down beside them as Sokka and Toph continued to argue.

When Aang didn't answer, Airis cocked her head. The young Avatar seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Airis shrugged it of though; it was probably about what had happened with the soldiers. Sokka had interrupted an important conversation they were having. When Airis had finally found him, wandering aimlessly around the very center of the market, they had heard the scream of the soldier Toph had scared and ran to help them. The airbender smirked, even Toph had kept her mouth shut as to not interrupt Katara and Aang.

"Sure" Katara finally answered, turning away from her frustrated brother.

Airis smiled and poured the tea. "Aang? Do you want some?" She asked again, showing a near invisible smile as she wondered where his mind was taking him.

* * *

Aang was off in his memories; relieving each moment that had happened that day. The day had passed by so quickly, barely giving him any time to think things through twice. First training, then going to the Spirit World to find out that he and Airis were twins, then telling Katara and finding Toph and fighting off all those soldiers and at the end of all that he still hadn't been able to tell Katara! What the hell was wrong with him? Breaking threw his thoughts he heard Airis talking to him. Aang shook his head, dragging himself out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked, clueless as to why the two girls were staring at him.

Katara pointed at the teapot. "Do you want some tea?"

Aang rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks turning a light pink as he realized how long he must have been out. "Uh, yeah sure."

Katara frowned as Airis poured his tea. "Is something on your mind, Aang?"

He blinked his eyes completely open and shook his head. "No" He lied as he picked up his teacup. At that simple movement he felt the crumpled paper inside his shirt move against his chest. He allowed himself a small smile; maybe, just maybe that was the answer.

Katara looked at him sceptically and looked over to Airis. "Is he lying? You're the one with the mind powers."

Airis finished her tea and shook her head. "Nan-unh, I'm not getting into this. You two have to figure things out on your own" She said leaning back on her elbows.

"He's your brother. Do you really want him to mull over his thoughts so much that he hurts himself?" Katara taunted, placing her hands on her hips. If it was a fight Airis wanted, it was a fight Airis would get.

"I'm right here you know!" Aang said placing down his tea and looking over at the girls angrily.

Airis shrugged "His choice" she said, sipping her tea. "Just because he's my brother doesn't give me the right to pry into his private life…"

"Thank you, Airis" Aang said nodding formally.

Airis smirked "…unless…" she paused as she played with the rim of her empty teacup "…I find it's important to know." She followed, cockily finishing her sentence.

Aang frowned "Hey!"

"Hey can you pansies back up the conversation a bit!" Toph said as she pushed Sokka to the floor. "Did you just say that Crazy is Twinkle toes's sister?"

The three of them turned around to find that during their conversation Toph and Sokka had entered in hand-to-hand combat. It was obvious that Toph had won, seeing that she was now sitting comfortably on top of Sokka's back, having his arms pinned behind his back and the older boy's face smashed against the hard floor.

"What?!" Sokka muffled through the flooring.

Aang rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, we kinda forgot to tell you. But yeah Airis is my sister, my twin sister"

Sokka rolled out from under Toph and jumped to his feet. "You and Airis are twins?"

Aang smiled. "Yep, we're twins. That's why we're both Avatars. Right?" he asked, looking over at Airis for backup. The other airbender just simply smiled and nodded.

Sokka grabbed his head, trying to comprehend such an unscientific prospect. "But you guys are like four years apart! That's impossible!"

Toph shook her head smirking as she stood up. "No, that's awesome! Are you guys serious? How long have you known?"

"Actually we only learned a few hours ago. Our parents told us." Aang said.

Toph cocked her head and narrowed her eyes "I thought all the airbenders were dead."

Aang's shoulders sagged at her blunt statement, and he looked down at the table. Airis sighed and put her hand on her brother's shoulder. "We went to the Spirit World and found our parents." Airis rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, we're the last airbenders."

Toph smiled nervously and shifted on her feet "Oh, sorry."

Aang let go of a small smile and looked up a Toph's sightless eyes. "That's okay. I'm kinda used to it now"

"This still doesn't make any sense." Sokka said crossing his arms and turning away.

Aang smiled. "That's what makes it fun!"

Sokka opened his mouth to protest but he knew, with Aang, he would be going nowhere, fast. They were twins and no matter how freaky and unrealistic it was, it was the truth.

Sokka sighed. "Well, weirder things have happened to us. Guess twin Avatars is something else that we can cross off our list."

Airis smiled at the warrior and motioned for him to sit down. "That's the spirit Sokka! Now get your big butt down here and have something to eat."

Sokka lifted his head and his eyes brightened. "Meat?"

Aang shook his head and lifted up a basket. "No, it's the delicacy of fruit!"

Sokka's shoulder's sagged. "I hate you guys" He mumbled as he sat down and grabbed a mango.

Toph punched his arm. "We know you do!" she said laughing. Sokka sulked and bit into the fruit. The moment his teeth sunk into the mango, its juices exploded onto Sokka's face and all over his clothes. The rest of the Gaang burst out laughing as Sokka wiped the juice off his face.

"Of course" Sokka mumbled as he rolled his eyes.

* * *

Aang sighed into the cool night air, as he sat down on his training platform. He pulled his legs up to his chest. After everyone had gone to bed, he had managed to sneak out into the garden to get some time to him self. Stupid, stupid, stupid Sokka, why did he have to interrupt them? He had finally gathered enough courage to ask Katara to meet him in this very garden tonight and all that had been thrown out the window the very moment Sokka had barged in after the fight.

Aang smacked his forehead against his knees. What the heck was wrong with him? Courage just couldn't disappear like that! Can it? Aang groaned and pulled his legs closer to his chest. Well, today's chance was messed up for good.

_Wait a minute! _He thought as he remembered the poster he had grabbed.

Aang quickly dug in his shirt and pulled out the crumpled up sheet of paper. He studied the familiar paper. He had only seen it once before. It had a large fire dragon on it hovering over a Fire Nation building. In the center of the building was the insignia of the Fire Nation. Both drawings were surrounded by a large circle, with flames licking at the circles edges. Underneath the drawing were the clear characters for 'The Fire Festival'.

He read over the poster for the umpteenth. It would last three days, starting tomorrow night. Aang sighed and folded the paper neatly. All he needed to do was suck up his dignity, ask Katara to come with him and see if he could cut training with Airis. Yeah, that was easy enough…right? Aang groaned again and dragged his hands down his cheeks. Yep, his chances were slimmer then Zuko capturing him AND actually bringing him to Ozai.

Aang picked himself up off the platform and gazed around the darkened garden. He smiled. It was pretty nice here, a good place to think. A yawn suddenly erupted from him and the young airbender rubbed his head. He'd better get some sleep. If he knew Airis she'd make him work for the time away from training and if Katara did say yes, who knew how long they'd be there.

Aang smiled softly. Yeah, he was almost sure Katara would say yes. Unless…unless she had something to do… Aang's shoulders slumped at his pessimistic thoughts.

Aang straightened up. No, he would stay positive. Tomorrow would be a good day he could feel it. _Please, please! Let tomorrow be a good day! _He prayed as he left the garden and returned to his room.

* * *

Katara held her breath as she heard Aang come down the hall and enter his room. She had waited to make sure he was alright. She had been the first to go to bed. Sokka and Toph had followed soon after, arguing about Airis and Aang as twins until they finally slammed their doors in each others faces. After a long while she heard Airis go to bed. It had been even longer now and Aang still hadn't come. She had begun to worry after that, but then she heard his foots steps and Katara felt a wave of relief rush over her.

Katara exhaled when she heard him close the door securely behind him and hop into bed. She brought her hand to her head and sighed. Her thoughts wouldn't leave her alone about what Aang had almost said after they had fought those Fire Nation soldiers. What had he been trying to say? It was killing her! _Stupid Sokka _She sulked. _That's two damn times he's interrupted Aang!_

Katara's heart fluttered. _Maybe he does love me! _Katara hugged herself. Now that she was sure that Airis wouldn't try and go after Aang, her mind was at ease. She sighed; maybe she should make the first move. But what could she do? She rolled over in her bed and stared at the wall as if it would give her the answer.

She watched as the silver hue of the moonlight crept farther and farther into the room. Her eyelids began to droop and it was becoming harder and harder to stay awake. She yawned and stretched. Katara pulled the blankets up to her chin. She would sleep on it. Yeah, sleep on it. Katara nuzzled deeper into the pillow and let sleep take over. She could only wonder what tomorrow would bring. Right then, it could be anything.

* * *

Dawn broke to Aang with a faint buzzing sound. He groaned and forced open his tired eyes. The buzzing sound ceased and Aang looked down at his nose. A dragonfly sat there staring at him. The bug cocked its head and buzzed its wings; almost as if trying to communicate with the Avatar. Aang smiled at the dragonfly. At the movement, it launched itself off his nose and flew out the open window.

Aang sighed. _Not as weird as yesterdays wake up. _Aang pulled back the covers and swung his feet onto the cold wooden floor. He yawned and stretched as he looked out the window. The sun had barely touched the horizon and the red and orange colours of morning were just making there way past the fading darkness of night.

Aang wandered back into his room. He paused when he passed the mirror. He frowned as he stared in disgust at the large bandages that covered most of his small chest. He turned his back to the mirror and began un-wrap the bandages absentmindedly. He wound the fabric around his right arm and looked over his shoulder to see his wound.

Aang gave a lopsided smiled. The wound was healing nicely. He knew that the others would consider him lucky. There was no sign of infection and it had begun to own a healthy scab. Soon he would have a scar and he would no longer have to worry about the wound festering. But, he would have this scar for the rest of his life; a constant reminder that he had failed the Earth Kingdom.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He didn't bother to try and put the bandage back on to hide the wound. Aang knew it was Airis, and there was no use trying to hide anything from her. The door near silently slid open and his new sister quickly stepped inside.

Aang looked away from the mirror and his wound and smiled slightly at her. "Hey" he greeted, turning back to his wound.

Airis smiled and walked up to the other airbender. "Hey, yourself" she said standing next to Aang and looking at his disfigured flesh in the mirror with him. "What's up? You're never up this early. Something got you thinking?"

Aang looked away from the mirror. "Not really. A bug woke me up" At least he spoke the truth.

Slowly, Airis nodded, sliding her gaze away from his wound towards his eyes, where his whole story was written for the world to read. She sighed softly, and glanced at her brother out of the corner of her eye "Scars aren't that bad, you know. It's like having a story written on you"

The boy's eyes widened and Aang turned sharply to her. "I didn't say-"

Airis crossed her arms and looked sceptically down at Aang, raising her eyebrows before he could even finish the sentence.

Aang lifted his finger to argue but, then exhaled. There was no point arguing. He glared up at his sister. "Did you use your mind powers?"

Airis smiled. "No" Aang narrowed his eyes and Airis let out a short laugh. "It's painted all over your face"

Aang frowned and let shoulders sag. Airis smiled softly and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hey" She said catching his eyes. "Do you remember when we came to that Fire Nation and had to face the blockade?"

Aang nodded. "Yeah"

"Do you remember the scar I had to show them? The one I got from Fire Lord Ozai." She asked, keeping his own large eyes locked with hers.

He nodded quickly, his gaze heading straight for her left leg, were her large scar was hidden by the baggy black pants she wore.

Airis smiled and stepped back a little. "Well actually, and this may surprise you, but I am kinda proud to have it."

Aang jerked away from her and stared at her. Wondering more that moment than ever before on how insane his sister actually was. "Why would you be proud to have a scar that came from Ozai?"

"Because it's a reminder of that day and the feelings I felt during that time." Aang furrowed his eyebrows; still not making any sense of her explanation. "It was the greatest fight I ever had. It pushed me to my limit and further and because what I was fighting for was more then enough. It taught me things I never would have learned on my own. And this scar reminds of those things"

Aang crossed his arms sceptically "What could you have possibly learned from fighting with Ozai?"

Airis shook her head, "I learned how to control my emotions. It was one of the first things I learned when I first got to the Fire Nation, but I only to it as far as always keeping my emotions in check and freezing my heart when I had to fight to the death or kill. I never truly saw the true meaning until I fought Ozai. The fight started because I was triggered and at first I was over taken with anger and as the fight wore on I knew I wasn't going to win if I kept it up. So, I shoved all those feelings aside and concentrated only on the fight. It took almost all my strength, but I finally won or well 'lost'"

Aang nodded slowly. Frowning as he found a reason and a connection in Airis' words. "I have an idea of what you mean. You know… learning to hold back your emotions."

The older airbender nodded. "Then please elaborate." Airis replied motioning with her hand.

Aang stared at the floorboards, trying to find a connection to what his sister had meant before and his experience. "In the crystal catacombs, underneath Ba Sing Se, when Katara and I were fighting Zuko and Azula, I was so surprised that Zuko had chosen Azula that I almost got myself hurt." He said remembering the enormous ball of pure fire Zuko had shot at him. Aang had been given barely enough time to gather enough air to deflect it. Even then, he still didn't collect enough and he was sent back flying.

"And even after that I was so worried about Katara, that I wasn't able to make a strong enough earth suit to protect myself from Azula. And after I recovered I didn't even notice the Dai Li. I knew then that I had to let go of my emotions so I could master the Avatar State-"

Cutting him off, Airis put her hand over his mouth. Aang lifted an eyebrow at her action. "What?" He mumbled through her hand. For some reason this was happening a lot to him lately. First Toph, now Airis.

"Stop right there. You let your emotions run you there. Not the other way around." Airis said as she removed her hand.

"What? But I mastered the Avatar State. I let go of Katara! How could that be, my emotions running me?!" Aang said grabbing his short hair and looking franticly at Airis.

Airis smirked and crossed her arms. "Simple, you could have made some strategic moves and gotten out there easily. Defeating them would be near impossible, yes, but you would have escaped unharmed and have been able to gather up forces to take back Ba Sing Se later. But, instead you wanted to protect Katara with all your force and you went to the extreme. Do you get the picture?"

Aang frowned. "I guess so…" He looked up at Airis. "But how could I have known what to do?"

Airis wrapped her arm around his shoulders and shook him gently. "It would have come to you. Don't worry. Think about that next time you have a big fight like that. But you did learn a lot there, and you should be proud of that" Aang stared at his feet, nodding.

Airis smiled and moved toward the door. "Come on, get dressed and have something to eat. I'll meet you outside in the garden, later. I have something I want to tell you since you did so well with the going to the Spirit World yesterday." Airis paused as she exited the room. "Oh yeah, there's some clean bandages in the basket over there in the corner" She said pointing at a small square woven basket next to the desk.

"Okay" Aang said, un-wrapping the old bandage from his arm.

Airis smiled and left. "Don't be late" she teased as she walked down the halls.

Aang quickly dug in the basket and wrapped the new bandage securely around his chest. He manoeuvred his torso around a bit to make sure it wasn't a nuisance and then threw on a shirt and tossed on a pair of pants that he had found in a drawer. Aang paused a second before grabbing the Fire Festival poster, out of a pile of old clothes, and shoving it down his shirt again. He couldn't let anyone see this; not right now anyway. It would be best to keep it with him, for now.

Looking out the window he smiled; inhaling the warm summer air.He paused briefly before he rushed to the kitchen to get something to keep up his energy.

* * *

Aang found his way to the garden easily, it was now a map engraved into his mind and he was glad for it. Because he was sure that without it he'd be lost in seconds. He slid open the garden door with ease and step into the fresh air. A rarity here in the Fire Nation, he had to guess. The air he had been in so far had made him miss the Air Temples more then ever.

Aang jogged through the tangled vines and overgrown plants and found the wooden platform with the help of the trickling stream that led to the pond next to it. Airis was already there. She had her legs crossed with her hands placed palms upward on her knees. A small bowl of what looked like dried sage sat in the exact center of the platform, directly in front of Airis.

Aang stepped onto the platform and stared down at his sister. Aang smiled; he still couldn't believe that Airis was his sister. It was almost too good to be true.

Airis blinked her grey eyes open and clamped her hands down on her knees. "So, you still touchy about firebending or are you ready to try?" She asked suddenly.

Even though Aang didn't want to start off his training today with the wring attitude, he furrowed his brow and frowned. "I told you no matter what you say I will never firebend again! I know I can defeat Ozai using the three other elements." He confirmed crossing his arms defiantly. He swore he would never hurt Katara again and if refusing to learn firebending ensured that, then that was fine with him.

Airis held out her hands submissively "Alright, okay. Then I guess we'll start with some more meditating."

Aang's rebellious arms gave way to the words. "More?" he whined.

Airis smirked. "Yes, more!" She said patting the floor in front of her, for Aang to sit down. Aang rolled his eyes but complied. "Because the next thing we're going to try will require peace of mind and a lot of it. But once you master it, you can be as pissed as you want to be when you use it"

Aang snickered. "Okay. So well, what do I do?" He questioned shrugging.

Airis brought her fingers to the tips of the dried sage in front of her and lit them by pressing them between her forefinger and thumb. Soon the air was filled the smell of burning sage, giving everything a more relaxing and relaxing feel, making it easier to meditate.

Finally Airis answered her pupil's question. "Just mediate. The position you're most comfortable with will help you a lot. Just work on clearing your mind."

Aang nodded and exhaled, moving into his familiar Air Nomad pose; legs overlapping each other and fists pressed together.

He smiled. _I guess this day isn't so bad so far._ He inwardly chuckled at himself. _No, concentrate, clear your mind…_ Aang scolded himself. He focused on his breathing and the smell of the sage. Slowly he began to feel at ease. _Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…_

* * *

It was nearly noon and Airis and Aang had once more returned to their meditating. The hot sun was beating down on the two Avatars and was wearing down Aang, he was not used to anything taking this amount of time and focus and he didn't even know the purpose of all this concentration

Eventually, Aang gave into a yawn and Airis smiled. Opening her eyes she laughed softly. "I guess we can take another break" she said standing up and offering a hand to her student.

Aang smiled and took Airis's hand. She hauled him up and patted his back; taking care not to hit his wound.

Aang rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead. "Why are we meditating again?"

Airis grinned; it was no use keeping a secret any longer. "You need your mind to be clear of all distractions if you want to open and master your mind powers."

Aang smiled from ear to ear. "Toph said I had mind-powers! You're really going to teach me?"

Airis cocked her head. "Toph told you?" she questioned as she crossed her arms, rethinking the pros and cons of telling the earthbender about their powers.

Aang laughed nervously. "Yeah we kind of had this weird argument. I was talking about you and me being twins and she was actually talking about mind-powers. She ended up telling me that I had mind-powers."

Airis nodded slowly "Okay…" she drawled out.

"So you're really going to teach me that?" Aang said eagerly, smiling hopefully up at her.

Airis laughed "Of course. I want you to reach your full potential as Avatar. And since you don't want to learn firebending, the only thing left is your mind-powers." she said punching his chest lightly.

Aang would have playfully punched her back as well, if he not heard a crumpling sound when his sister had punched him. He automatically flinched, there was no way she would missed that sound.

The other airbender pulled her hand back and lifted an eyebrow. "What do you have in your shirt?" She asked suspiciously, as she crossed her arms and smiled knowingly.

Immediately, Aang blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh… yeah about that… it's a to-do list" he said, giving her a large grin and an overdone shrug. Aang knew, with no doubt in his mind, that his efforts were wasted.

Airis raised a suspicious eyebrow as a cocky smile played with her lips. "You do know you're a terrible liar, right?"

Aang sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I know." he said as he reluctantly pulled out the poster and layed it out on the platform. He sat down and fiddled with his thumbs.

Airis sat down as well. She studied the poster, rubbing her chin. "The Fire Festival, huh? So, what's your idea here?" she asked.

Diverting his gaze from Airis, Aang's blush deepened. Airis could not help but raise her eyebrows in curiosity. Finally Aang explained, "Yeah, I was wondering, if…maybe… we could go…and maybe I could…uh go with…Katara?" He stuttered.

Airis smiled and yanked her brother closer giving him a noogie. "That's using you're head, little buddy!"

Aang laughed in surprise and squeezed out of her grasp. "You're okay with it?" He asked as his eyes got bigger with every word.

Airis chuckled. "Well, duh. This is what I've been trying to tell you ever since I noticed you had fish eyes for her! And how about I figure something out to get Sokka and Toph away from the festival, so you and Katara can have a real date?" she proposed, smiling as though she was already concocting a plan.

He smiled hopefully. "Really? You'd do that?" she nodded, obviously trying her best to work this new brother and sister role "Thanks, Airis. You're the best!" he said hugging her.

She laughed as she pushed her brother back down. "Now before we go back to training; I have to know something…" Aang nodded without hesitation "Have you even asked Katara yet?" she asked lifting an eyebrow and an eye at Aang; knowing the answer before the other Avatar even spoke.

Aang blushed looking away from his sister. "Well… uh not really, but I was planning to do it after this."

The other airbender nodded slowly and smiled. "Well we better get started then. If you want to get cut training early" she said, smirking.

"What?" Aang perked up. He really did have to get used to this whole mind-reading aspect.

Airis cocked her head. "It's not really a good start to your training, but since you did so well yesterday… I don't see why not" she said smiling knowingly.

Aang hugged his sister again. "Thanks Airis."

Airis laughed, putting her hand on his arm. "You already said that", she laughed. "Alright let's get back to meditating. We definitely have to clear your mind all over again after this."

Aang rubbed the back of his head, blushing. "Hehe… I'm sorry about that."

Airis put her hand on his shoulder and turned him back to face her. "Don't worry about it. The sooner you two hook up the better."

Aang cocked his head, beginning to have the feeling that Airis had already put much thought into him and Katara. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Airis shrugged "Nothing, just that you two are a cute couple" she smirked. She knew though that if they hooked up; Aang would have a larger chance of forgiving himself and allowing himself to learn firebending. Having Katara next to him would do him a world of good. Airis knew that.

"Right…" Aang drawled out, rubbing his chin in mock distrust.

She punched him in the shoulder. "Come on! Focus! So we can go to the next stage. It's much more fun then this."

Aang laughed softly. "Okay" he said overlapping his legs and pressing his fists together again. Opening one eye he saw that Airis was in the same position as him. "Thanks again Airis" he said quickly, slamming his eyes close.

Airis shook her head. "You said that three times already!" she said not opening her eyes "Focus" she scolded again.

He smiled and went back to concentrating. _So far, so good_

* * *

A fresh breeze had finally settled in, in the garden. Airis smiled and looked down at Aang. He was concentrating with all his heart. She laughed softly. He had always dived right into learning new things; putting in all his strength to help others.

"Alright, I think that will be enough" Airis said.

Aang's eyes shot open. "Do you think?"

Airis laughed and put her hand on his shoulder. "Yeah" she answered softly.

He smiled softly, his silver eyes darting from side to side; finally settling on Airis. "Okay, well then what's next?"

Airis smiled. "This next step should be easy enough, because we share a spirit and I'll keep my mind open. I'm going to think about a strong memory that I have, that you'll have no chance of knowing about. I want you to try and contact my mind and describe to me exactly what you see."

Her student scrunched his face up. "How the heck am I supposed to do that?!" Aang panicked.

Airis put her hand on his arm to calm down. "Slow down panda-tiger. It's not as hard as it sounds. Just focus on me and it'll eventually come. Take it slow and steady" she reassured.

Aang exhaled heavily. "Okay, I can do this, I can do this." Aang closed his eyes, trying to give himself confidence.

Airis chuckled softly to him. "Don't worry about it. It'll come." she reassured kindly, again.

Aang exhaled again; moving into his airbender position. "Alright, I think I'm ready."

His sister cocked her head teasingly. "Are you sure?"

He nodded his head slowly. Airis nodded closing her eyes "Alright, remember what I said and you'll do just fine"

Aang closed his eyes and inhaled. _Airis, think only about Airis. No other thoughts…_

* * *

After a long while Aang sighed. _This is going nowhere…No. I can do this. Think Airis, think like Airis…_ Aang focused all of his thoughts on what he knew about Airis, everything from the little adventures they had shared a hundred years ago at the Southern Jongmu Air Temple to what she and Katara had told him about her adventures with the benders, all the way to what he had felt when they had met the blockade and he had seen that his old best friend had developed a vicious and terrifying dark side. He quickly replaced the betrayed feeling with the fact that he and Airis were now siblings.

Smiling he decided to focus on what had become since he had woken up and found her along with the rest of the gang safe and sound.

Minutes passed and nothing came.

Aang scrunched his face in concentration. He had to do this, he had to learn all he could about his Avatar Spirit as fast as possible. Suddenly, something that felt much like a heavy breeze wafted its way through Aang's arm. Aang's heart began to pound at the unfamiliar and somewhat frightening sensation.

What was weird was that it was going around the outside of his body like a normal breeze. It was as if it was using his chi passages as a pathway, running up and down and through his body at a rapid pace.

The feeling of violent wind whipping around him abruptly joined the other inner breeze and just as quickly, over took the inner sensation. Aang tried to yell at Airis for help, but his voice was lodged deep in his throat when he attempted to open his mouth. He tried to open his eyes to find Airis, but the wind kept those shut tight as well.

Just as suddenly as the wind had appeared, the ground beneath Aang's feet disappeared, and the wind began to die down.

With the violent wind gone, Aang began to kick for the return of solid ground. Awkwardly, he felt himself being placed onto of something and beginning to rock. Not like an earthquake, but a fast, even rocking movement. Aang kept his closed his eyes shut tight and tried to grab onto something, anything.

Aang gasped when he felt his arms wrap around something. He didn't know what it was, but you didn't hear him complaining. Aang pulled himself closer to the object. And, suddenly, against his cheek, he felt rough fabric and braided hair. Aang forced his eyes open inch by inch as the heavy rocking movement continued. He was now another fighting strong force of wind as well, as, what Aang didn't know was a mental scene, slowly fell into place in front of his eyes

The first thing he saw was blurry ground, then a large ostrich-horse foot slam against the ground, soon followed by it's pair. Aang yelped and hugged the object tighter. He looked up through the blinding wind and saw a person; a girl, with long hair, riding the ostrich horse, along with him.

She turned, Aang guessed to see behind her, and laughed. Aang pulled back in shock, the person he was holding onto was Airis. Well, a twelve year old version of Airis in Earth Kingdom robes.

She didn't turn back to the ostrich-horse as she called back. "Are you doing okay back there, Faikai?" _Faikai! Airis' firebending friend! _Aang smiled proudly as he realized that he had managed to make his way into the thought that Airis had put out for him. _I…uh she must be thinking about the benders!_

Aang looked behind him to see a teenage boy, dressed in dark brown clothing, riding his ostrich-horse awkwardly. He lifted his head up and did his best to glare at Airis as he nervously tried to control the animal he was riding. "Haha! Very funny! You know I'll never get used to ostrich-horses!" He called back at Airis. The boy's hair was pulled up in a top-knot, but it had an Earth Kingdom ring holding it up.

Airis laughed and turned around. A teenager, a guy, about fourteen, maybe fifteen rode up to Airis. "Quit it guys. We should reach our campsite soon," his deep, factual and somewhat diplomat tone easily branded him as the leader of the small group "It should be right past those trees." he stated, removing on hand off his ostrich-horse's reins to point at a group of trees huddled close to a river. The boy wore blue Water Tribe clothes, a lot like Sokka's and his hair was cut chin length, with two braids wrapping in seal leather on either side of his face, pulling some of his dark brown hair back from his face.

Airis smiled. "Yes Sir!!" she quickly mock saluted the Water Tribe teen, before leaning over her ostrich-horse's neck and speeding the beast up slightly.

Aang abruptly heard a short female laugh that sounded somewhat like a mixture between Toph's hard bluntness and Azula's honey slick manipulative voice. "You got that right!" He heard the voice say before she pushed her ostrich-horse to full speed and became a blur of brown feathers and green robes. "Come on, Faikai! I know _you_ can do it" she teased, back to the firebender.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Faikai said, ignoring the Earth Kingdom girl's, whom Aang presumed was Eema, as he finally caught up with Airis, settling into his companion's animal's gate. Airis laughed and leaned over to punch him gently in the arm, before speeding off to catch the girl who had rode off.

As Aang felt the thumping of the ostrich-horses feet quicken; he smiled. Airis had been so happy with her friends. He could actually feel it radiating off the other airbender. But this had been about four years ago. She had not even expected to be torn away from them. But now that she and them were apart from each other. She didn't mourn for their lost days. She cherished their memories.

Aang smiled. _Airis wanted me to learn that, just in case, didn't she?_ He shook his head. He wasn't surprised_. _Aang slowly let Airis's past fade away in front of him. He let himself be pulled away as he watched Airis's figure ride closer and closer to the trees. Aang again felt the wind whipping around him, not as terrifying as when he first felt it, as he settled back into his own body.

* * *

Aang blinked his eyes open and shook his head. He smiled at Airis; who had obviously been waiting for him. "I think I did it!" He laughed, grabbing his head. Not believing what had just happened to him.

Airis smiled. "I think so, too. So what did you see?" she asked putting her hands on her knees.

Aang gazed back into his memory a bit and snapped his fingers. "You were back with your old friends; one of them was called Faikai, and another Eema, right?" He hadn't been able remember the name of the Water Tribe boy. "You guys were travelling in the Earth Kingdom on ostrich-horses and you were heading towards this group of trees." He replied, leaving out the part of him learning a lesson. He would save that piece of information for later, only if she wanted to know.

Airis smiled and folded her hands in her lap. "Good. See that wasn't so hard. So how's it like having mind-powers?"

Aang threw his fists in the air. "It's awesome! Can I do it all the time, now?" A small part of him was eager to see exactly how well this power truly worked.

Airis laughed and shook her head. "No. You just learned what happens and only a fraction of what to do. Besides that was memory, it's a heck of a lot easier to read those than a person's immediate thoughts, since it's already fixed inside a persons head. It'll be a while before you can do it instantly and without energy. But that was a really good start though."

Aang looked up at his sister. "Thanks, Airis." he said hugging her.

Airis laughed and hugged Aang back. "Hey, buddy? P.S…" she whispered in his ear. "This is the part where we cut training and you go see Katara."

Aang pulled back and smiled. "Right"

Airis rolled here eyes. "Well, then go! Get off your lazy, new mind-powers butt and go ask her!"

Aang exhaled and rubbed his arms. "Okay… are you sure I can do this?"

Airis laughed. "You? Mister Avatar?" Aang looked up at her sceptically "Of course you can! Now go!" she said grabbing his arm and almost sending him flying off the platform, causing them both to go into a laughing fit.

"Go!" Airis ordered through laughs, pointing at the exit of the garden.

Aang laughed picking himself up. He heard Airis's near contagious laugh all the way through the garden. Aang ran past the over grown plants; jumping over the familiar vines that only wanted to trip him. He bolted through the door and ran down the wooden hallways.

He didn't stop until he reached the kitchen, where he had easily felt Katara's vibrations with his earthbending. At the door, he paused and took a deep breath and pushed it out just as slowly. _I can do this_ He reassured himself.

Taking another deep breath, for reassurance, Aang slammed open the kitchen door. Katara was there. She was sitting next to the table, polishing and sharpening her swords. Aang completely froze at what he saw.

The sun was hitting her figure just right so it was as if she was glowing. Her beautiful chocolate brown hair was cascading down her back, in gorgeous waves. Her mouth was set in a small smile as she concentrated on her swords, the corners of her mouth pulled up so gently. It was perfectly sweet. Aang's shoulder sagged as he sighed. She was so perfect, so beautiful, so…

"Hey, Aang what's up? Are you already done training with Airis for the day?" the waterbender asked, as she put down her swords and smiled tenderly at him as she stood up from her place at the table.

Aang body completely stopped listening to his brain. _Ask her! Darn it! Ask her! _Aang blushed and looked at his feet. "Uh…well Katara"

Katara stared at him intently. "Yes Aang, what is it?" The concern in her voice was no where near even trying to be covered.

Aang blushed deeper and looked into Katara's beautiful cerulean eyes; the gorgeous sapphires that melted his heart. Aang tried to snap himself out of it, but his body just wouldn't obey.

"Katara, will you…" Asking her out was almost like being interrogated. What the hell was wrong with him!? Aang felt of bead of sweat fall off his forehead. _Where the heck did all that confidence go?! _His mind screamed, infuriated at him.

Aang took a deep breath and looked deeply at Katara. "Katara I was wondering…will you…uh…"

Aang bit his lip, his eyes darting all over the room. Come on you can do this! You the Avatar for Spirit's sake! He felt his heart thumping harder and harder against his chest. _Just ask her!! Damn it!_

"Aang," Katara asked innocently, reaching out to him "Is something wrong?"

Aang felt the heat in his cheeks deepen. "Well, actually…" Aang began looking down at his feet. When he raised his head again, all he saw was Katara's angelic face gazing worryingly at him.

Aang took a deep breath and finally met Katara's gaze. "Katara, umm… since…well Toph, Airis, and Sokka are out doing something tonight…" praying that Airis' plan would work out "I was wondering… since there's this festival in town and… if maybe… if you wanted to…" _Just hurry up and say it, you idiot!!_

Aang sucked in a deep breathe and closed his eyes as though he were going to be slapped across the face. Then he finally blurted out. "…that maybe, we could go to the festival together?"

* * *

AN- I am a terrible person aren't I… seven months with no update and then a cliffhanger when I finally update. What can I say I'm one of those people who adore them

And to those who want to know, yes I spent seven months working on designing a building when this was put on hold, let me tell that crap takes up way to much of your time to be called humane. And to top it all we didn't even get the goddarn contract. That's right! Seven months of near constant work, of non-updating, and of please shoot me now, and I -and my crew- end up with nada, zip, nothing!! Sorry I'm ranting, I'm just kinda pissed

Anyways, I will try not to get lost in my work again, updates may take longer than before, but I promise never again seven months. (Hauls up schedule for the next year) aww crap, a documentary this year…(slams head on table)

Please review, I'm horrible, I know, but still… please?


	21. Bated Breath

Well Hello again, fellow FanFictioners :) I have to say, it has been far, far, FAR too long since I last uploaded a story, specfically this one. To be honest, I never thought I would leave this story so abruptly, since I wanted so hard to keep it going and to even write a sequel for it. But being the masochist that I am, I constantly sought out other fics of the same genre to see what I could do better, and all I found were hateful words about Orginal Characters and twisted story plots. I didn't know it then but I was slowly sinking into a pit. I then followed in by reading my early chapters and saw that they were completely horrible (I doubt if any of you think other wise, but it was certainly that way for me). Added to that, I saw myself trying to constantly compete with myself with each and every new chapter. I would try and make them longer and longer, until really, I couldn't keep up with my own writing. I set my standards far too high and when I looked around, it all came crashing down. That's the best way I can describe my leave of this FanFiction.

I do understand that there are people who really did follow this and might have honestly enjoyed it. And I am extremely happy to have been able to brought some intrest to the time of those people :) This Chapter, and the extras that are to follow, will be dedicated to all of you who believed in this story, when I didn't.

I thought I would be one of those who would make it past, but sadly I am not, this story will be discontinued shortly (please don't hate me) but not without a couple more chapters and then a wrap up to tell you of my ideas to finish the story, and some of my ideas for the sequel. If you weren't able to read it the right way, I believe you should all have the chance to know what was supposed to happen :)

My writing style has definitely changed over the past couple of years, but these were put together from peices dug up from my ancient computers's files and then put together, so you will still have my old voice. This has none of my knew style of writing in it, so to me it will still be a little odd and honestly juvenile and childish (yes I know I am hard on myself, but I know this is the truth).

So as I mentioned before, this is for all of you who have waited and hoped and maybe even given up on this story and Katara's answer to Aang's Date question. Please, read and enjoy all you like, or ignore. I know it is what this story and its abandonment deserve, but for those of you who still wish to keep reading or are curious about this old fic's sudden reappeance, please read on and review, if you like :)

Thank you all, and have a good evening :)

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA

Chapter 21

Katara stood frozen, staring at him, unable to comprehend what he had just asked her. Or perhaps it was the fact that Aang had asked her what she had wanted to hear for so long, okay so it wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear, but it was pretty darn close and good enough to cause near brain damage.

Finally her startled brain managed to ask itself a question. _Did he just ask me out?_

Her inner self jumped in the air, clasping her hands. _YES, HE DID! Now say yes, before it's too late!_ She scolded the moment she came down.

Aang held Katara's eyes in his own as he watched her ponder over her own thoughts. _Please, say yes, please!_ He silently begged, somehow wishing his plea could be read in his eyes.

Finally, Katara smiled and Aang relaxed, all fear of rejection swept away by one beautifully simple gesture.

"Sure, Aang, I-I'd love too!" Katara mentally kicked herself for stuttering like an idiot in her response. Then, she nodded quickly as she quietly tucked a stray hair behind her ear, drawing as much attention as she could away from the blush that was forming on her cheeks. Keeping her eyes locked with Aang's, she smiled again.

All tension was suddenly washed away when Aang returned her smile. Katara inwardly sighed, _I can't believe it, Aang does really like me…_

Silver and sapphire remained unmoving. Both relished every moment of being one, and prayed that nothing would break them apart…

_SMASH! THUD! CRASH!_ "Idiots! Leave me alone!"

"Sokka be quiet!"

"Yeah! Shut up!"

"Why would I be quiet!"

"Just… keep quiet okay!"

At the sudden sounds, the couple jerked back shaking their heads as they came out of their somewhat spell. Katara looked away, the light blush her mocha coloured cheeks darkening at the realization of her trance.

A shy colour also claimed Aang's cheeks as he pulled back his arms and rubbed the back neck. "So, is sundown okay with you?" Aang asked.

Katara looked back at him and smiled. "Sundown's great."

Once again the voices interrupted them. "Come on, Sokka!" Toph's voice rang down the halls.

Airis's followed soon after "Yeah, Sokka, you have to come!"

The door burst open and Sokka walked into the kitchen, his shoulders hunched over and his mouth set in an annoyed pout. Aang raised a curious eyebrow as he watched the teenager cross his arms; almost growling at the other girls.

Airis and Toph followed in quickly after him, "It'll be fun" They taunted in sing-song voices that were completely betrayed by the twin maniacal smirks their faces wore.

Sokka turned around and stomped his foot angrily, though neither of the girls flinched. "How can watching a bunch of guys shoot fire at each other be any fun! It's too dangerous!"

Toph smirked, finding a way to trap him in his own game. "You seemed to like the earthbending tournament in Gaoling, and you nearly got yourself killed sitting up so close and I do happen remember that you were the one screaming the loudest. And I think guys shooting flames and guys chucking rocks aren't so far apart. " the ex-tournament fighter pointed out, weighing both facts in her hands.

"That was in the Earth Kingdom! This is in the Fire Nation! If any of you guys remember, the Fire Nation is bad! Evil! Not safe!" Sokka attempted to remind the two benders by failing his arms in the air for dramatic Sokka effect.

Airis smiled, ignoring his protest. "Firebending tournaments are the exact same thing as earthbending tournaments except that there are way more often and it's with firebending. Besides that, it's the exact same thing" the other ex-tournament fighter explained, leaving out the parts about the higher ranks of the tournament being one of the most violent sports she had ever been apart of, but he didn't need to know that…yet.

Sokka smacked his forehead and gritted his teeth. "The key-word there is '_firebending_!'" The warrior argued between his teeth, keeping his hand glued to his face

Airis and Toph smirked at each other. "If you go, you'll also be able to study there firebending moves up close…" Airis said.

"Where you would a real chance to learn the weaknesses of firebending…" Toph continued.

"Giving you an upper hand with the invasion strategies" They finished together, nodding at the Water Tribe boy and smirking comfortably at themselves. That was almost sure to get him to come.

Sokka split his fingers apart, giving his eye a small peephole to see the girls. Seeing there confident faces, he sighed; his hand slowly slid off his face. "You guys aren't going to give up until I say yes, aren't you?" He groaned.

Toph and Airis smiled at each and nodded smugly back at Sokka.

"Fine, I'll go, but only to study; strictly for invasion tactics. That's it." He gave in, crossing his arms defiantly, in a sad attempt to protect to save the remaining particles of his dignity.

Toph walked over and punched him in the arm. "Of course, anything you say" she replied, "now come on let's go. It's starting soon!" The blind earthbender said as she grabbed his arm.

"How do you know?" Sokka asked as he pressed his feet into the floor, stopping Toph.

The earthbender smirked "It's called a poster, Snoozles! They're all over the city if you haven't noticed."

"But you're blind." Sokka pointed out, sceptically, for the first time not falling for her blind tricks.

"That doesn't mean Crazy is." she answered letting go of his arm and crossing her arms. "Speaking of Crazy…" Toph slowly turned around and faced the older airbender's vibrations "C'mon! I want to see what a firebending tournament is like. Maybe I could even beat those idiots at there own game." Toph smirked, punching her fist in the palm of her hand as she thought of the prospects of a good fight.

"I'm coming!" Airis replied as she quickly grabbed a large cloak off the wall and turned over to Aang and Katara, who had completely been lost in the argument and nearly forgotten about "Alright so see you guys later! I'll make sure Sokka doesn't kill anybody, so don't worry, Katara" she said running out the door, not giving either of them a chance to reply.

"Katara and Aang aren't coming?" Sokka asked poking his head through the door.

Airis's and Toph's heads followed suit, both rolling their eyes "Katara hates tournaments!" Toph stated before grabbing one of his sleeves

"And Aang needs a break to rest." Airis finished, grabbing Sokka's other sleeve.

"But-" his sentence was cut off when the two girls finally pulled him out the door.

An awkward silence filled the normally bustling air. Katara and Aang stood there; slowly nodding awkwardly at the scene that had already passed before them.

"Okay, I'm not exactly sure what happened but…" Aang said slowly turning to Katara. "Since the others just left, do you want to go now?" He asked.

Katara shrugged, a simple attempt of finding casualty with her bubbling mind. "Why don't we get cleaned up first and meet back here."

"Okay, so we'll meet back here in half an hour…?" Aang offered, keeping his cool as well, but the over exited tone in his voice was clearly audible.

Katara smiled. "Yeah," She said walking toward the hallway. "So, I'll see you later, then?"

Aang blushed a bit, but smiled regardless and nodded.

Katara lowered her eyes as the light blush, that mirrored Aang's own, returned across her face. Katara soon disappeared down the hallway.

Aang listened after her as long as he could. Once he heard the faint sound of her door closing Aang punched the air "Yes! Oh thank you, thank you! Thank you so much whoever is in charge of this love stuff" He prayed quickly to the Spirits, he really didn't want to pause and reflect on which exact Spirit it was that watched over love.

Running down the halls and he skidded into his room. Aang ran as fast as he could, hoping that this would be the quickest half hour of his life. He couldn't wait for the evening to begin.

* * *

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into doing this" Sokka sulked as their group of three made their way down some of the secluded streets of the Fire Nation capital. The streets beginning to darken at the last rays of the sun, some of the lamps bordering the streets had already been lit for the night and most of the houses they had passed were boarded and locked shut in preparations for this night's…festivities.

Airis smiled at the warrior. "It'll be fun. I think you might actually really enjoy this, Sokka." She said as she draped the cloak over her shoulders leaving the hood for later.

"What's with the cloak?" Toph asked not moving her sightless eyes away from the ground. She couldn't see the material, but she had sensed its vibrations as it skimmed across the ground when Airis had thrown it on.

"Yeah, about that, there are some people there who don't like me very much and would challenge me to a fight after the tournament. Right now, I just feel like kicking back and watching other people fight instead." Airis explained as she laughed nervously and rubbed her hand against the back of her neck.

"Understandable," Sokka smirked under his breathe.

"Thank you, Sokka" Airis replied, rolling her eyes, along with her head, towards the swordsman.

Sokka crossed his arms and smiled at her gesture; knowing that the girl was ready for a fight to see who could get under the other's skin the fastest. "No problem." He answered back readily.

Unfortunately their fight was not to be tonight. Toph clenched her teeth at their bickering. She was blind, but she certainly wasn't deaf. Though it was at these times she was the latter. "Would you two whiny babies stop it? We're almost there. The arena is right down this street" Toph said stepping in between Sokka and Airis and pointing down a street where a crowd of restless men had gathered and continued to loiter next to a rather large stadium.

Toph threw her arms in the air. "Alright! Let's go watch a bunch of ugly idiots kick each others butts!" she yelled before running toward the crowd.

Airis laughed before throwing the large hood over her head and running to catch up with Toph. Sokka sighed and slowly began to make his way to the girls. Airis ran back to the Water Tribe boy and grabbing his arm as she laughed. "Let's go! You and I both know you want to," Airis taunted.

Sokka's shoulders straightened to put up an argument but sagged when he realized it was useless. Giving in, Sokka mumbled under his breath "Stupid powers" as they moved toward the large crowd of people. The sounds of bets being made and arguments already broiling were almost deafening as Sokka and Airis entered the swarm of men to find where Toph had gone.

* * *

Aang pulled at the collar of his shirt as he waited for Katara in the kitchen. Beads of sweat had already begun to form on his forehead. What if he screwed up? Badly. Katara might never want to be near him again. Aang bit his lips staring at the unmoving door. Remembering his training Aang let out a deep breath. He needed to stay positive, relax and have fun tonight. Then the rest would just come… right?

It was just a little date. A festival wasn't major; maybe a little dancing, maybe look some of the shows…no big deal. Aang's eyes darted across the room, as if trying to seek some invisible comfort.

Suddenly, Aang heard the door creak open slowly. His head immediately jerked in that direction. Katara stood there, dressed in her normal disguise, but her hair let down fully except for the top-knot at the crown of her head, some hair stands lovingly placed behind her ears. Her beautiful blue eyes shone like polished sapphires. Aang took in every detail of her like a drug.

Shaking his thoughts out of his head, Aang smiled and walked up to Katara and picked up her hand. "You look beautiful, Katara" He said as he gazed into her face.

Katara smiled, turning her head away shyly, yet still keeping her eyes locked with Aang. "Thanks, you don't look to bad yourself," she replied as an unnoticed soft blush slowly creeped in on her cheeks.

"Well, then let's go to the festival then" Aang said cheerfully, holding his arm out to Katara, trying to mask his nervousness.

Katara giggled as she entwined her arm with his. Nodding and laughing at each other they left the building, wondering what the night would bring. She pushed all the negativities to the back of her mind. She was finally going on a date with Aang, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. She would make sure of that.

* * *

"Hey guys, I found some seats!" Toph called out to her two other companions as she sat down on the stone. Sokka and Airis were searching the higher part of the stadium in search for seats. The place was massive, almost as big as the Earth Kingdom stadium Toph used to fight in. She had taken notice that the fighting platform was not the square shape the Earth Kingdom used but more of a rectangular shape as if each fighter had one place to fight and protect.

So far Toph had caught wind of some of the rules from the betting men situated at all corners, outside the arena. The rules were pretty basic. Just like the ones back in Gaoling. All the fighters had to do was to knock the other guy down and pin him there. For the more advanced competitors, though, they had to burn or even kill their opponent once they had them knocked down, permanently taking away their honour as a fighter if they were not granted the mercy of death. These Fire Nation guys took this honour business way too seriously Toph had decided.

Toph shrugged, hell, this could turn out to be a pretty good night, even if she was stuck with Crazy and Snoozles. It had been awhile since she had seen, not been in, a good fight and she couldn't wait to see this style of fighting, even though she wouldn't be able to see all of it.

Eventually she felt Sokka's vibrations running down the stairway, straight for her.

"Finally some seats!" He said catching his breath. "And they're pretty good, too, nice job, Toph," He remarked, sitting down next to the earthbender.

"And this is coming from the person who had to be dragged here?" Toph questioned raising an eyebrow.

"No comment" Sokka scoffed as he crossing his arms and glaring toward the, so far, unused fighting platform, his hard searched, lighter attitude disappearing immediately after her question. Toph chuckled loudly at her work; it was almost way too easy to annoy the boy.

Airis came skimming down the stone stairs, her feet barely touching the hard surface and her cloak faithfully covering her features. She found the other two with ease and sat down next to the brooding warrior.

The airbender quickly placed her elbows on her knees and her hooded face in the palms of her hands mocking Sokka's position. "Yeah, the thing about these things is that they take forever to start." Airis said her impatient tone almost too obvious. Sokka grunted in response, not removing his face from his hands.

As the waiting continued, Sokka's gaze gradually moved up to the roof of the building in boredom, studying the beams and structure of the place. That's what he had come to do, right? He wasn't here to watch a bunch of Fire Nation guys fight in the name of fun or honour. He was here to study them and find out there weaknesses.

Suddenly, without warning, the lights of the stadium were dimmed away and the constant humming chatter of the crowd froze solid. Sokka's eyes jerked to the center stage where a firebender, the host for the night, had stepped out smirking widely, a single beam of light shone over his body. His deep, loud voice boomed through the stadium.

"Let the games begin!" He declared sending two large flames of fire to each side of the platform, lighting the two cauldrons that bordered the side of platform. Giving the two spaces that were obviously meant for the fights more light and viewing to the crowd

The crowd roared as two male firebenders appeared from either side of the stadium, and crouched down, backs facing each other. The roar grew louder and the two stood up and turned to face each other. The man who had come out first looked at the two scanning their faces before sending a blast of fire into the air, the starting flame of the fight. The host jumped off of the platform the moment he had let the flame loose, as it had sent both men into a wild frenzy of flames against each other.

As the two men clashed and as the crowd cheered and roared for their favoured fighter, Sokka felt tight feeling in his stomach, something like a little bug crawling up inside his chest. The crawling bug feeling pushed the young man to let go of his dignity and cheer as loud as he could with the rest of the crowd.

Sweat began forming on the warrior's forehead as he fought the urge. Sokka bit his lip, trying to choose between the bug feeling and the girls being right. _Aww, screw it! _Sokka cursed, as he suddenly found himself jumping to his feet and yelling with the crowd; cheering for the one with the more pronounced muscles and the better build.

_No point in Toph and Airis having all the fun tonight. _He thought as he cheered louder, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. In the corners of his eyes Sokka could see Airis and Toph smirking at him as if telling him he was so busted. He pushed it aside for now and punched the air with his fist as his fighter sent a blast of fire to the other, knocking him down for good.

* * *

The sun had completely set by the time Katara and Aang reached the borders of the festival. The groups of people they were passing by were growing larger and larger as the approached the heart of the festival. Katara had no idea what to expect at this particular festival. She had only been to one actual Fire Festival and that had been for about fifteen minutes before Aang had blown his cover with the magician thing. Her heart began to beat faster as the memories if that night ran vivid in her mind.

Katara was brought out of her worries as she felt Aang's hand tightened around her own. She looked towards her date and smiled, tightened her grip around his hand in response. Aang paused for a moment and pointed to a vender that was selling hand carved masks. "We should get some of those if we want to blend in here."

Katara nodded everyone they had past so far had or was purchasing one of the traditional masks. Not wearing them would attract them more attention then her blue eyes.

Katara picked out a white mask with red triangles coming out of the edges. The vender had told her it was of a healing river spirit, native to the Fire Nation. Aang grabbed a mask shaped in the face of a cat-owl, painted with earthy colours.

The two quickly put on their masks. As they giggled at each other's new 'faces' a clear, low music filled the air. The pair looked over a large crowd forming at a street corner.

"There's such a big crowd," Aang remarked, "It must be good" He said as he and Katara moved towards the music.

Katara gulped. She had heard that line before, right before all the soldiers of a village started to chase them. But, they had disguises now and they were in the heart of the Fire Nation, there was no way anyone would recognize them. Aang even had all of his tattoos covered. She shouldn't have to worry about those things, besides she was on a date, she should be having fun, not worrying over being caught by the Fire Nation.

Katara was tugged out of her thoughts as she and Aang reached the center of the crowd. An older man was playing a tsungi horn as a boy, about ten, firebended around him, moving his ever growing flames to the rhythm of the music.

Katara stared in awe as the man paced up the music and the boy sharpened up his movements, expertly keeping the flames away from his audience. At a leap in the music the boy jumped in mid air spinning his body parallel to the ground; the flames surrounding him like a deadly cocoon landing on both feet and sent fire blasts into the night sky.

Finally the old man ended the music and the boy spun on one foot sending the flames in a large sphere around him. When the flames disappeared, the boy fell to his knees, breathing heavily, spreading out his arms for applause.

Katara found herself cheering loudly with the crowd as the boy caught his breath and the old man walked over to him placing a hand on his shoulder and congratulating him on the dance, before moving on to another street corner.

Katara glanced down at Aang who was clapping his hands and whistling encouragingly at the boy. Katara frowned as she remembered that Aang was also a firebender; the peaceful, loving boy she had always known… was he already capable of doing such beautiful and dangerous things? He was the Avatar, but watching him right now, he seemed like a normal kid. Katara sighed. That was one thing she loved about the airbender; he never let his Avatar powers go to his head, well most of the time anyway.

The crowd soon dissolved, moving to other attractions and Katara and Aang returned to there browsing. Seeing through the eye sockets of the mask would take some getting used to, but they were wide enough for Katara to see most of what was in front of her.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" Aang said turning around to face her, pointing to a small restaurant at the end of the street.

Katara bit her lip under the cover of the mask, trying to suffocate the giggles that were begging to be set free. It was hard to take him entirely seriously as he wore the cat-owl mask. She nodded regardless, her stomach had begun to complain, but thankfully Aang had yet to notice.

Making there way down the street to the restaurant, Katara suddenly felt a cold chill run down her spine. Stealing a quick glance over her shoulder she could have sworn someone was watching them.

* * *

A man turned around in the center of the platform, both fists raised in the air. He was grinning widely and shaking his fists. Sokka sat up in his seat and cheered.

"YES!" He shouted over the constant racket of the crowd, mainly made up of the deep voices of grown men. Sokka turned to Airis, still mostly hidden by the large, dark cloak. "I told you!" He yelled in her face "I knew he would win! You owe me five silver pieces!" Sokka stated as he held out his palm.

Airis smirked in the man-made shadows of her hood, pushing back his hand. "Hold your ostrich-horses! He still needs to beat five more guys _without_ getting burned. He is not going to win! Just look at his form, it's so uncontrolled!" She pointed out gesturing toward the arena.

Sokka smiled and crossed his arms "Of course that's what you're going say" he said smugly. "You're just scared that you're going to lose"

Airis smiled and crossed her arms behind her head, leaning back on the stone seat. "Just wait and see, tough guy, it's all about form."

Toph poked Sokka's arm, joining the conversation. "I'm with Crazy on this one. She's right, I can feel his form and it's just a matter of time before his strategy cracks."

Sokka just scoffed. "It is going to feel so good to beat both of you at the same time" He said sitting down and crossing his arms once again.

"Keep thinking that" Toph and Airis said simultaneously.

"BRING IN THE NEXT FIGHTER!" The host yelled, a large man moved from the challenger doorway and joined the host and Sokka's fighter, whose name, they had learned, was Dragon Thunder. They had all expected some sort of cheap, crappy, clichéd name like that. Toph could remember one of the earthbenders she had fought actually had the name Jungle Rot. Who the hell even wanted that name? Toph huffed at her bangs as she brought herself back to the fight.

Dragon Thunder and his new opponent faced each other, nearly growling in each others faces, before walking off in opposite direction and kneeling low at each ends of the platform, facing, each, a ceremonial cauldron of fire.

Sokka jumped to his feet along with the rest of the crowd "KICK HIM OUT OF THE FIRE NATION!" He called out to the man. Remarkably, his voice was heard over the rest of the crowd.

Toph and Airis just laughed as they watched Sokka discover one of his new favourite past times.

Toph leaned over to Airis and cupped her hand between her mouth and Airis's ear. "And he said he didn't want to come," she said over the sounds of the raging flames and Sokka's constant cheers. Both of them simultaneously agreed. "Busted"

* * *

Katara uneasily picked at her noodles. Something was wrong, but she couldn't pin point it. She looked over her shoulders to the other normal looking customers chatting quietly or eating their food. Was someone watching them? She warily eyed her mask that was lying next to her on the table. Now that they had taken their mask off to eat, they would be more easily recognized. Katara shook her head. No, what would anyone want with them? The entire Fire Nation thought Aang was dead.

"Is something wrong, K- uh Xia?" Aang asked putting down his chop-sticks, seeing the obvious worry on her face.

"No, nothing wrong… it's just…" Katara looked over her shoulder before she continued "I kinda have this feeling that we're being watched."

Aang lifted his eyebrow "Why would anyone want to spy on us?"

"You're right, I worrying for no reason. Just forget I said anything." She said quickly before going back to her noodles.

Aang shook his head and reached out to touch her hand. "Maybe it's just because we're in such a big place. We're just not used to being near to so many people this long. We've done nothing but travel for almost six months." He comforted.

Katara smiled. "Yeah, that's probably it. Thanks, A- Kuzon" Aang smiled and grasped her hand in his own as they gazed into each others eyes for a moment. He really did care about her. Katara sighed. He had picked her, he loved her, and out of all of the girls he could have chosen, he picked her.

"Crap! We're going to be late for the dance!" A young man said from the table behind them, his chair scrapping annoyingly across the floor boards.

"I don't see what is so important about a stupid dance; most of us already have girlfriends!" His friend complained dropping a few copper pieces on the table.

"Fine, I'll go by myself and I'll have all the hot ones to myself!" The young man said, turning his back on his friend and heading towards the door.

The other sighed "Alright, I'll go! Not as if Ussuri will care if I dance with some other girl. Besides the only way you'll get girls is if you stop being such an asshole" He said walking up to his friend and shaking his finger at him.

The young man smirked. "I can't help it. I'm naturally an asshole, but all the girls dig that kinda crap. You on the other hand are a gutless pervert. Not really that attractive." He said haughtily, walking out the door.

"Oh, come on! I swear I never saw those sketches in my life! It was my mom's new boyfriend, he planted them there!" He pleaded after his friend, about the private joke.

Katara and Aang snickered at the squabble they had eavesdropped on, after the two had left the building.

Straightening up, Aang cleared his throat and tightened his grip on Katara's hand. "So, do want to go to the dance?" He asked hoping to the Spirits that she would say yes. Nothing would make the night more complete.

Katara smiled. "Alright then, let's go to the dance." she said holding out her hand.

Aang laughed. Picking up her hand, he placed a brief kiss on her knuckles, while dropping some money on the table. Katara giggled as she sat up, her eyes never leaving his until she had to put her festival mask back on. Aang smiled and easily slid on his own mask.

Katara held some sort of comfort in knowing that there faces were covered. The small wooden objects made her feel as though nobody would recognize them and helped lessen the ball of worry that had begun to form in her stomach. But something still just didn't feel right…

Leaving the restaurant Katara looked once more, trying to recognize any of the faces in the room. Not one of them clicked into her memory. Biting her lip, Katara tried to shake off the nagging feeling and enjoy the night. _Everything is fine. _She thought trying to comfort herself. _Nobody's spying on us. Get a hold of yourself Katara! You're on a friggin' date! With Aang! For Spirit's sake stop worrying!_

But, the ball of worry had even worked its way around her inner self. _Don't you just hate it when you just know those gut feeling's are oh so right?_ She thought as she shoved the thoughts back into the deepest parts of her subconscious.

* * *

Sokka jumped to his feet again, shoving his fists into first Airis' face, then Toph's. "You guys are so going down!" He yelled as he pointed to the stage, where Dragon Thunder stood, his fists were thrown into the air and he was yelling at the top of his deep voice. A smaller man lay in a ball at his feet, his right arm and chest were severally burn and a healer was already tending to him.

"Over-kill" Airis remarked, her voice dull and emotionless as she gazed on at the wounded firebender, ignoring the constant yells of the crowd, the fighter and Sokka.

"Crazy's right, he didn't have to burn that guy so bad, I can feel him tensing from the pain all the way back here" Toph agreed, crossing her arms.

Sokka clutched his head in his hands. "ARGH!" He groaned in frustration. Calming himself he looked toward Airis smiling. "You guys are just saying that because you know NOW he's going to win." He smirked. "He only has to beat three more guys and its official. You guys just didn't see it in the beginning and now you're taking out on me"

Airis ignored his last sentence. "Three highly skilled firebenders who have been doing this for years and have mastered their form and style" Airis rolled her eyes "Yep, if he keeps this up he'll win for sure!" Playful sarcasm hung onto every word.

Toph smiled suddenly. "Hey, old ladies, shut it for a minute, my final bet is on the next person" she said pointing to the arena entrance. Toph had been felling the vibrations of each of the contestants who had come so far and judging from the balance of her natural stance, and her breathing, Toph knew to place her bet on this one "She's going to win for sure." She said planting her bet securely in the ground.

"SHE! But you haven't even seen them yet!" Sokka argued, turning toward the earthbender. "How are you supposed to know how good they are?"

Toph hauled up her bare feet. Shoving it in Sokka's face, she wiggled her toes. "It's called earthbending, moron! And my bet's on the next fighter, who's waiting right outside that door, ready to fight your idiotbender!"

"We'll just see about that!" Sokka said plopping down between Airis and Toph. "BEAT THE NEXT GUY TO A PULP!" Sokka yelled to Dragon Thunder as they waited for the next fighter.

"She's so going to kick your guy's ass." Toph said under her breath. "GO NEW PERSON!" she yelled, joining in on the competitive spirit.

Airis smiled. "These are the types of fights that some of the best" she said to one in particular about the tension forming between Sokka and Toph over their preferred fighters. "When it's not really the fighter's doing the fighting" She chuckled, as the host moved to center stage and the burned fighter was taken out of the ring.

The host smirked as he walked in a circle, looking at the whole crowd. "This is what you've all been waiting for: THE FINAL THREE BATTLES!" He yelled to the audience who roared in agreement.

Satisfied with the response, the host turned toward the closed door, Dragon Thunder standing behind him grinning confidently, waiting for his next opponent.

He held out his hand dramatically to the door and the lights, controlled by firebenders, dimmed in the stadium. In a low voice he chuckled deeply. "Bring out…

The crowd became deathly quiet as they stood at the edge of their seats, waiting for the suspending announcement of the next fighter.

"…Red Death"

The eyes of three people in the crowd widened.

* * *

The lively Fire Nation music filled the air as the crowds of people danced around the streets. Aang and Katara stood side by side awing at the magnitude of the festival. The main dance was a block up the road. A large stage was set in the center and for now a band of five was playing their music.

Countless masked faces danced their way past the couple, swinging out their limbs and jumping to the rhythm of the beat. Some smaller children ran through the swamp of legs, giggling to their hearts content, attempting to catch one another, weaving through the fast paced music as fast as they could, before the song stopped and they were caught.

Smiling, Aang looked over to Katara and held out his arm "Do you want to dance?" He asked with a playful formality, his comfortable confidence finally having a lasting effect on his voice.

Katara blushed from behind her mask, taking one last glance at the people lightning up the streets with their constant movement. "Umm, okay…" She finally answered, as she took his arm. Katara smiled, she could have sworn she saw his eyes smiling as he led them out into the streets. The people dancing happily made room for the two new comers.

Katara looked around nervously as the people around her became a reddish blur, the only thing she could focus one was Aang. Biting her lip under the cover of her mask she leaned over to Aang, placing her mouth next to his ear.

"Aang, the thing is I… I don't know how to dance." She admitted, whispering loudly over the music and laughing.

Aang pushed her back and smiled. "That's okay, I'll show you" He said holding both her hands in his. Katara nodded as he took the lead. They started off slowly moving from side to side despite the fast paced song that was playing. Katara gripped onto his hand and waist as he gently moved them around. Soon she began to feel comfortable in the dance. Bravely, she lifting her head up from Aang, and looked around at the other dancers.

Katara was immediately intimidated by the more experienced couples dancing around and around them. Katara stumbled and ended up tripping over her own feet, falling into Aang's arms.

Katara grasped onto his arms as she looked up at him and blushed at her mistake. Aang smiled as he brought her back to her feet. Aang held her close to him, and whispered in her. "Don't worry about them." He pulled back to look into her eyes. "It's just us right now"

Katara's breath caught in her throat as the sincerity of his voice made its full effect. All she could do was nod as the pulled closer together and Aang began to lead again; following the same pattern of their old dance.

Something stirred inside Katara, telling her this dance was just too safe and she stepped away from him keeping her hands on his narrow waist and in his hands. "Why don't we try something else?" she offered.

Aang smiled at her enthusiasm. He took a step back also, holding both her hands in his he made a large circle in-between them. He side-stepped starting a larger circle, the next step he brought them back together. Once he was sure Katara got into the steps he quickened them up. Looking over at Katara, who was smiling ear to ear and laughing, Aang smiled. _Perfect_ he sighed as he enjoyed every moment of their dancing.

Katara easily connected the rhythm of their dance to the rhythm of the music. Suddenly Aang let go of one of her hands and she left their circle spinning and laughing. With a quick sidestep he rejoined her, catching her by the waist before she was lost in the crowd around them.

Suddenly, Katara's back collided with someone and her imbalance at the time caused the sudden push to press herself against Aang, his arms wrapped around her waist and hers draped around his neck. Katara felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she and Aang met each others eyes, and she was thankful the mask was there to hide her heavy blush.

The world around them became a large blur, of lights and people, as the two gazed into each others' eyes. Something inside Katara, something she had never known existed, felt complete. As if it had remained empty for so long it had almost been forgotten, but now simply standing with him made it flourish once more. And for some reason she was sure he felt the same way.

An explosion of applauds tore the couple back from their world. Katara jerked her head towards the crowd, her lips curled up in a menacing growl at the people for taking that moment away from her. Not that it did her any good, she soon realized she had the mask on again, and turned in the direction the crowd was facing. Noticing immediately that during her dancing with Aang they had moved up closer to the stage.

Aang, equally shaken, turned his head in all direction trying to comprehend what was happening. Finally, a voice sounded from the stage in the center of the square. Realizing Katara was already waiting patiently for the man to begin, Aang cleared his throat trying to rid his mind of all the thoughts that had past through his head during their moment. Not all of them particularly ones he would share at this second.

The man on the stage clapped his hands together to gather the already full attention of the crowd. Smiling kindly the man turned to his side. "Now, I present to you Huo-She; the greatest magician in the Fire Nation!" He announced proudly before backing off the stage.

Aang cocked his head and looked over at Katara. "Magician?" He wondered out loud.

Katara shrugged and looked over at the stage again, a young man dressed in a white and red robe with gold trimming and gloves, took center stage. "Ladies and Gentleman, I am Huo-She and I have the honour of entertaining you tonight" His deep voice portrayed louder so all could hear. Smiling he created a small ball of fire next to his hip before pushing it out in front of him to let it grow and burst into a bunch of fire-flies.

The crowd awed at his performance and some of the children who were raised up on their parents shoulder reached out to capture a firefly. Katara's gulped and her eyes widened. "Aang, do you recognize this guy?" She asked nudging him with her elbow.

He nodded. "He's the same magician we ran into in the colonies" Aang said warily, uneasily shifting his mask.

Katara juggled her options carefully in her mind. "Aang, maybe we should go. You know, in case this guy recognizes us" She said going with the choice she felt best with.

Aang touched her hand comfortingly. "No, I don't think we have to. We have our faces covered and we're wearing different masks. And we're in such a big crowd, I doubt he'll even glimpse at us." He reassured.

Katara smiled looking back over to the stage. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We should enjoy ourselves." she said before she was cut off as he sent some small sparks of lightning in the air, causing little claps of thunder.

Over the next fifteen minutes Aang and Katara allowed themselves to be amused with the magician's tricks. Awing and clapping at his unique tactics. So far the night had been great, nobody had recognized the two as the Avatar and his waterbending master, on a date, or even as their aliases, Kuzon and Xia.

The magician walked up to the middle of the stage and looked over his audience, wiping the sweat that had formed from his last trick. "For may last trick…" He began

The audience complained at the loss of their entertainer but Huo-She just smiled and held up his hands to hold back the crowd. "For my last trick…" He repeated "I will need a volunteer. A girl over the age of twelve" He announced scanning the crowd for the perfect girl, his gaze landing on Katara.

Katara flinched. _I knew this was going to happen. _She scolded herself.

Katara turned away slightly to reduce the risk of being picked once to stand close to Huo-She. He would probably recognize her at that close range.

She grabbed Aang's hand. "Let's go, Aang" she urged, keeping her eyes away from the stage.

Before Aang could answer, the magician announced his choice. "You!" He said pointing at Katara; she shook Aang's hand in hopes to move away from the crowd before much attention spread.

Unfortunately, he was persistent. "Don't be shy. Come on up here, the pretty one with the white mask!" Her description made everyone glance around for a girl with a white mask. Quickly, all of their stares landed on Katara.

She gulped at her problem and shook her head as she backed away. Aang joined her attempting to run into the crowd. Katara hesitated, but that would bring them too much unwanted attention. Looking back up to the stage Katara weighed her options.

Huo-She laughed at her, what he thought was shyness and waved his arm. "She's shy, come on folks bring her up here!" He told his faithful crowd.

Katara making up her mind she continued to back away keeping her hand firmly in Aang's so they wouldn't loose each other. Suddenly someone gently grabbed her by the shoulders and patted them.

"Don't be scared, sweetie. It'll be fun" A foreign, motherly voice said. And, before Katara could shake her head or Aang could object, the woman passed her on to some other people. As she was passed up to the stage she managed to keep her grip on Aang. They finally lost touch when Huo-She grabbed her arm and swung her up on the stage next to him. Katara hugged her arms, feeling like some stupid puppet as he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him.

Holding up her hand lightly, Huo-She began to speak to the audience again. "My next trick will be called 'The Dragon's Lady'" He turned toward Katara. "You will be our Dragon lady" He said pulling a gold silk scarf out of his sleeve and tying Katara's hands in front of her.

Katara eyes widened as she felt the unknown strength of the silk knot. What was next? Wait a minute, she knew this. Perhaps it would be similar to the trick she had been put through in the colonies. Katara gulped. At least she had somewhat of an idea of what to expect.

Huo-She moved Katara to the center of the stage. Leaving her there he moved up closer to his audience. "I will be her captor!" He said laughing menacingly, for extra drama. Swinging his arms he created a whip of fire, sending it in a circle around Katara.

Her breath caught in her throat as she back away from the flames, only to look over her shoulder and realize she was completely surrounded by his fire.

Huo-She chuckled angrily once more. "Nobody can save you now!" He yelled his acting showing to through his voice as not to scare the young ones too much. He raised the flames into a large dome that consumed Katara completely. Katara instinctively curled herself in order to avoid the ball of fire that surrounded her now. "No!" She heard a group of children yell for her safety as Huo-She made the dome smaller.

Aang himself was having an inner battle. He fingers gripped onto the stage to stop him from doing things to rashly. _It's just a trick. It's just a trick. _He repeated as Huo-She made the dome so small that if Katara stood up straight she would have been burned.

On the brink of jumping up on the stage and rescuing Katara himself, Aang noticed the magician set a new flame and created a large fire dragon. The beast magically appeared in the air and roared at Huo-She.

Huo-She pretended fear. "No it's the dragon lord!" He yelled as the dragon circled the stage once more and roared at the crowd, before turning to Katara.

Risking a look up through the walls of fire that surrounded her, Katara found herself staring into the intense eyes of a fire dragon. She gulped. _Just a trick! Just a trick! This is all magic! This guy knows exactly what he's doing. I bet he's done this a bunch of times before!_

Huo-She turned to the audience. "He is here to rescue his lady!" He yelled as the dragon whipped its tail. The creature flew above the audience and turned to face the dome that surrounded Katara. It roared once more, before flying straight at Katara. She flinched, waiting out the impact, her white mask hiding all her fear. _Don't come up, Aang! They'll know who you are! _She pleaded silently as she cracked her eye open to see Aang at the verge of jumping up on the stage.

The dragon flew into the dome that surrounded her, and in a burst of flames, the dragon and dome disappeared, turning into a flock of cooing doves and colourful confetti. Aang let out an immense sigh of relieve, before he allowed himself to jump up on the stage and run over to Katara. Aang managed to reach her in time to catch her as Katara stumbled out of her shock.

"Are you okay?" He asked helping her stand. Katara nodded, breathing heavily as her fear slowly floated away. Aang smiled weakly at her response as he helped Katara out of her silk cuffs, unknown to both of them that a large shadow had made its way across the festival and was now on the very edge of the magician's crowd. The shadow watched attentively to every movement that the two made. The shadow nodded at something and took the unused allies to move closer to the stage.

Huo-She walked to the center of the stage. "The Dragon's Lady is saved!" He exclaimed clapping at Katara and Aang.

The crowd cheered and whistled as Aang and Katara smiled half-heartedly as Aang held up Katara's hand as she bowed. Huo-She walked over to them, as they stood up. "Let's give another hand for our Dragon Lady!" he said as he stood next to Katara and held her other hand.

As Aang stood on stage gazing over the audience and going over the dangerous event he and Katara had just managed to slip through, he heard a clang of metal against stone. The sound was muffled by the cheers of the happy audience but somehow Aang's hearing had managed to pick it up.

Narrowing his eyes, Aang tried to get a better picture of where the sound was coming from. The airbender only heard it once more, and he jerked his head in the direction of an alley that had been forgotten about during the festivities. The owner of the sound was an immense shadow. Aang tilted his head slightly trying to figure out what in fact the shadow was. The shadow froze as it, what Aang thought, looked him in the eye.

Aang had no time to actually process the shadow, only moments after it had stared him in the face, it pulled back as if taking a deep breath and the thrust its head in the very direction of stage where he, Katara and the magician were standing. Before Aang realized what he was doing, a beam of fire and energy shot right out from his forehead and flew towards them.

_TCK. _Aang only had moments to register what was happening. Acting only on instinct Aang grabbed Katara by the waist _TCK _and threw himself off the stage, covering Katara's body with his own as much as he could.

Before they had even touched the ground, the beam of fire-energy had reached the stage, and had exploded it into millions of pieces. The explosions sent the bits and pieces of, what was now, scrap wood flying through the air and wounded several civilians in the crowd. It was only moments before the crowd realized what was going on and began screaming in a frenzied panic at their unknown assailant.

Katara and Aang hit the ground heavily, tumbling over each other with the force of the impact, both of them losing their masks as well. But Aang quickly rose to his feet trying to find the shadow through the dense, terrorized crowd, with no avail.

Katara gasped as she caught her breath and stood to level herself with Aang. "What's going on? What happened?" she yelled over the screams of the crowd. Katara moved into an attack form as she reached back on her hip and grabbed the hilt of her broadswords, thanking herself for bringing them despite her earlier contemplation to leave them at the house.

Despite her efforts, Aang couldn't hear her as he searched for the shadow. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of an irregular glint of metal and a dark, but now, with more focus, the shadow seemed more human shaped. The shadow, once again, hauled back his shoulders for an attack. The thing, person, whatever it was, had spotted them. _TCK_

The sudden attack gave Aang no time to think once more. Only being able to rely on what the previous attack had been like, Aang pushed against Katara's shoulder, turning her towards a maze of unknown Fire Nation streets.

_TCK._ Moving past Katara, Aang grabbed her hand and bolted down the street. Barely making a safe enough distance as the fire-energy exploded in the place they were standing in only moments before.

Aang stole a quick glance at Katara. Seeing that she was as confused and lost as he was did nothing to comfort the panic that was starting to rise in his chest, but it set him to get them safely away from whoever or whatever was attacking them.

Breaking through the frenzy of clueless festival goers and running in a random, zigzagging pattern throughout the brightly coloured streets, Aang prayed with all of his might that the manoeuvres would be enough to lose there mysterious attacker.

A low yell, almost a growl, was instantly muffled by the screams of the crowd as Combustion scowled furiously at his missed targets. The kid has noticed him only seconds before he was able to launch both his sudden and aftershock attacks. It was a rare occasion when any of his targets got even a glimpse of him before they were killed, let alone manage to dodge the attack in total. This kid was good.

Combustion nodded at his realization. He would make sure to never underestimate him again. Combustion had never been played for a fool twice, and he wasn't planning on breaking that tonight. The kid was Phoenix's student; Combustion should have expected, even before he had chosen the targets, that she had taught the boy a thing or two by now.

But it seemed as though Phoenix had taught the young firebender nothing about double-sided attacks. Even if Combustion had missed the kids, the open attack did serve another purpose- to flush them out of the festival and out onto their own. And more importantly, to get the obviously new arrivals lost in the city, with no chance of help.

So far, Combustion made no move to relieve himself of his hiding place, yet. It was the perfect place to watch as the two children he had attacked made their attempt to rid themselves of his view. He smirked as the two ran like petrified hamsters in the labyrinth of the city's streets. Combustion had years of assassination and tracking experience under his belt. The basic zigzag trick was nothing new to him. Besides, it was clear that the two had almost no idea where they were going. That would definitely be one of the main keys to their no-so-distant downfall.

Suddenly a menacing smile slithered across Combustion's face as he made the calculations on their zigzag pattern and placed them next to his absolute knowledge of the entire capital. It was almost immediately obvious to Combustion where his targets were heading to; even if the two knew where they were actually going or not.

_Perfect. _

Finally leaving his hiding spot, he turned quickly and ran toward the estimated rendezvous point. Clenching his jaw and fists, Combustion swore that he wouldn't let those two kids get away. It was already risky enough that he had blown his well needed cover even if it did help him finally capture the two. And his identity would definitely be known to the entire group the second those kids told Phoenix of his type attack.

Of course it would be simple enough to just let them run off and warn her of his presence, but then he would have Phoenix, including the other four to deal with. And he did not like those odds one bit, even with his all of his experience. The only way to assure that he wouldn't regret doing so was to capture the two, giving him only Phoenix, the short one, and the obnoxious teenager to deal with for himself.

Perhaps even to guarantee Phoenix would find them, he would heavily wound one of the two, and then release them as to bring Phoenix straight to him. It would also give her someone to worry about while fighting Combustion. And if things went south he would always have the one he had kept as leverage.

_Yes_. Combustion grinned. It would all work out just fine, one way or another. It was only a matter of time.


	22. Face of Death

And so we've come to the last chapter of Pasts Die Hard :) Unfortunately it is much, MUCH sooner than you or I would have rather it come, but the wrap up will come within the next two weeks or so before I start College. Yeup, little old me is going to College X) Unfortunately though the program I've chosen to go into has left me with little time to have an actual life, let alone time to write. So this is why I'm going to end it now :) Though I do really love this fic and wish to really finish it for real, I don't think I will have any time to do so in the near future. Someday I may return to this, revamp it and make it into the FanFiction it was supposed to be, who knows :) All I know is that I owe a huge debt of thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed or followed or liked, maybe even loved this story :)

Thank you all, you are the people that make FanFiction great, never forget that. And please if you ever see a young, enthusiastic writer struggling with their work, encourage them and be their to help them grow :) Like many of you were with me.

I really hope you enjoy this chapter :) And PS, I'm sorry for leaving you with another sort of Cliffhanger ^^" As well as the lack of line breakers in the last chapter, I had forgotten that FanFiction deleted word document breakers, it has been fixed though :) In the end though, I hope the wrap up does make up for it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA

Chapter 22

Aang sucked in as much air as his pumping lungs could allow him. The more air there was in his lungs the longer he could keep his head on his shoulders. The complete chaos that the sudden attack had rushed in on the Fire Nation civilians was lessening at the absence of another attack.

Most of them had the sense to run to their homes for safety from the attacker. Unfortunately for Aang and Katara, that attack had been for them, why Aang didn't know, but it meant that they had to either run or face their mysterious attacker. And with the fact that they couldn't use their bending thrown into the dilemma, running through the unfamiliar streets in an attempt to lose whatever was after them, seemed like the best decision.

Making another sudden turn, Aang prayed once again that they had lost the shadowy figure. Why would something like that even be after them? Did the shadow figure out that he was the Avatar? Aang's eyes widened as his free hand reached up to brush the spot where his arrow was hidden by the weird dirt.

No. It was impossible for the shadow to figure him out by using his arrow; the others had taken precautions to make sure that he wouldn't be discovered during their stay. They had even created an alias for everyone. Aang bit his lip as he made another turn. It was still a nagging possibility. But, for now he would have to concentrate on getting Katara and him away from the shadow guy. If he was able to do that, he wouldn't have to find out what the shadow wanted.

Beside him, Katara kept up with his random turns, but was beginning to wonder exactly if Aang knew what he was doing. Having enough with, what seemed like, going in circles, Katara tightened her grip on Aang's hand and brought their running to a standstill at the intersection of four streets.

"Kuzon," she said catching her breathe, still using his fake name, in case their attacker was near by. Luckily it also gave her Aang's attention. His large grey eyes bobbed up and down with breath he took. Their eyes inevitably met and Katara continued. "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

Aang's eyes darted over the scenery in front of them. The streets and apartments looked about the same as all of the ones he had passed by during his time in the Fire Nation, but the names painted on the boards perched on the corner of each street, told him that he had never seen this crossroad in his life.

Biting his lip, Aang admitted. "Uh… no"

Katara sighed, "Okay then, did you see who or what attacked us?" she asked, ignoring the fact that the two were lost in the Fire Nation capital, not to mention that they had something trying to kill them right on their tails.

Thankfully, Aang nodded, and Katara's hope swelled if they new who or what it was they would be able to lose it or if worse came to worse, take it down easier. That was until Aang laughed nervously and continued. "Well, some of it. I couldn't see exactly what he looked like from where he was hidden, but it's a pretty big man, and he shoots this fire-energy stuff out of his forehead"

Katara panted for another breath. "Why would he be after us?"

"I don't know…" Aang said as he shook his head. "Maybe he's figured out that I'm the Avatar?" He lowered his tone to ensure no one but Katara heard him.

Now it was Katara turn to shake her head and lower her voice. "No, everyone in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation should think you're dead after what happened in Ba Sing Se." she said, ruling out that possibility.

Aang sighed and turned his head to look around once more. "So if we don't know who he is or why he wants us in the first place, what do we do? We can't just hide, that guy will eventually find us."

Katara nodded, knowing that their lack of knowledge of the capital had now trapped the two in compromising position. They ultimately had three options: One; find someplace to hide and or run through the streets and wait until the shadowy figure found them and blasted them to pieces, obviously not the immediate choice.

Two; make their way back to the house, if they could, but that would only lead there attacker to where the rest of the gang. And in the end, all of them would be sitting turtle-ducks in the house once he knew where to find them.

Or three; take their chances in the streets, try to find Sokka, Toph, and Airis, wherever those three were, and figure out why that guy was after them.

With the other members of the gang as backup, surely the man wouldn't attack. They might even be able to pick up some information about the guy from Airis; she was bound to know something about someone who possessed such a unique attack.

After going through the notes once more, Katara turned to Aang "I think we should go back to find the others and see if we can dig up anything on this guy. Besides, five is a much safer number than two. What do you think?"

"You're right" Aang contemplated, "It'll be a lot easier to take on and beat a guy like him with all of us around. We'd better go find the guys, before he comes back." Aang said as he stood back up to his full height and began walking silently down the street to his left.

"Wait a minute." Katara called out, quickening her pace to reach him. "Do we even know where the firebending tournament is being held in the first place?" she asked as she placed her hand on Aang's shoulder.

Once again, Aang bit his lip and admitted, "No, all the guys said was that they were going to a firebending tournament… but there has got to be some posters around this city about the tournament. Anyway, I'm sure that we'll be able to find the tournament building soon even if we don't see a poster. How hard can it be to find a building big enough to hold a firebending tournament?"

"I hope so" Katara sighed as she followed Aang down the streets. She loved how optimistic Aang was in almost every situation but sometimes Katara couldn't but wonder if optimism was enough where their lives were concerned. But she was never one to object to any positive thinking, so she went along without much complaint. How long could it take to find a firebending arena while dodging an attacker that they knew nothing about?

Katara and Aang were not left much time to ponder over how they could finding their friends, as the two of them both picked up a heavy stomping of metal on packed earth. The couple stopped dead in their tracks, only the sound of their breaths dared to mingle with the offending sound.

Katara visibly gulped and her eyes turned wide at the unfamiliar sound. "I-is that him?" Katara had never been one to stutter and naturally she wouldn't be so afraid of an attacker, but she had seen what the possible owner of the sound was capable of doing, and unable to use her waterbending, unless she wanted to blow their cover, she ruled this situation as an exception.

Aang nodded still partially froze to the spot where he stood. It took Katara's cool hand grabbing his own to snap out of the shock of how fast the shadow man had found them. Shaking his head, he turned back down the street, pulling Katara along with him.

Aang suddenly felt his breath hitch as a particularly close metal footstep stamped onto the ground. Unconsciously he quickened his pace and fled down the never ending streets. His breath hitched once more as Katara tightened her grip on his hand, in a silent confession that she was scared as well. Attempting to re-steady his breathing for the better, Aang hoped that the other members of the group were having a much better night then his and Katara's.

* * *

Airis could have sworn that if she hadn't been so intent on figuring out who exactly was this new fighter her jaw would have hit the floor the moment the host announced the next fighter.

Only moments after the host announced the name of the newest combatant, the massive red doors, on the right side of the stadium, burst open, and the crowd cried out and jumped to there feet.

Through the shadows Airis and Sokka managed to make out the faint outline of a woman fighter; the glowing of the flames in the cauldron giving them their only means of viewing the feminine form. Toph had already gotten as much of the woman's profile as she could gather and was waiting patiently to see the woman's style of fighting.

Airis's immediate smirk was hidden in the shadows of her hood, but Sokka and Toph heard it clearly and jerked their heads in the teenager's direction.

"Well, this is interesting isn't it?" Airis remarked as her gaze returned to the stage. She had not expected that someone would have so quickly picked up her old fighting name. Yes, it had been three years since she had left the Fire Nation, but she had expected since she had left such an 'unwanted' impression with them, that it would have been a decade or so before the name 'Red Death' was used again, if it ever was.

Studying the new fighter, Airis noticed that during her thoughts that the new Red Death had lifted her head proudly and was all but snarling at the idiot who called himself Dragon Thunder.

"Very interesting…" Airis murmured as she nodded. Despite the small sentence, her tone immediately admitted to Sokka and Toph that for now, Airis had no clue as to who this new Red Death was.

The lights in the arena suddenly slammed back on, illuminating three people: the host, Dragon Thunder, and Red Death. Under the intense glare of the firebending controlled lights, Red Death eased her glare at Dragon Thunder, if only a little.

For a moment everything was silent. Red Death nodded slightly at her welcome. Smirking, she moved silently across the stage, until she stood face to face with her opponent.

The woman was fairly tall perhaps six feet, but even so, she was easily dwarfed by Dragon Thunder's height and heavily muscled build. Surprisingly, despite her physical handicap, Red Death made no attempt to relieve herself of Dragon Thunder's menacing stare but yet, matched it with a stronger, fiercer one of her own.

Airis scanned over the new fighter, studying every aspect of her appearance, searching for any clue that would give way to whom she was and why she might have taken the name Red Death. The first thing Airis noted was that it was obvious that she didn't want to be recognized, the red and orange paint that covered her face with abstract flames gave that away.

Second, Red Death wasn't about to give up easily, not just her unforgiving glares told that story, but also her clothing; tight black training pants with a knee length red skirt over them, a simple red sleeveless shirt, and black clothe was wrapped around her wrists showed that she was here only to fight and, perhaps more importantly, only to win.

Airis cocked her head as the host separated the two fighters and sent them both to opposite ends of the platform. Her stride… it wasn't like a normal fighter's. Her strides were longer and flowed gracefully into each step. Airis cocked her head, intrigued. This meant that the woman was from higher in the society, probably sent down for a punishment… but why? And why would she have chose fighting for her new life? Higher society frowned on this so-called 'barbaric' activity, but, sometimes they did accept those who fought as long as they were good at it.

"Hmm…" Airis chewed on this new information like a sabre-toothed moose-lion on marrow. Her thoughts were put on hold as Red Death and Dragon Thunder walked to their separated parts of the platform and crouched on the floor facing away from each other. The crowed jumped to their feet once again, screaming at the top of their lungs. But all of this drowned out to a hum as Airis focused solely on Red Death.

"This is going to be fun" Toph grinned, as she leaned back. Sokka, who had his fists thrown in the air and shouting worthless put-downs toward Red Death, took no notice to Toph's comment directed at Airis.

"You've got that right," Airis murmured softly, her eyes continuously scanning the new fighter. Toph smirked and returned her attention to the platform, where the host was stepping back cautiously before he started the fight.

Dragon Thunder and Red Death were both soundlessly waiting for the signal. It seemed as though the host purposely took his time to prolong the fighters' period stuck in their kneeling position to irk the two more than was necessary.

Taking one last glance at the opponents, the host finally smiled menacingly and slammed his arm down into the air. "Begin!" he shouted before sending out a stream of fire in the air and jumping out of the arena.

As soon as the host left the platform, gas was released underneath the cauldrons of fire in front of the two fighters. The flames exploded and dared to burn them both. The explosion, though, threw off neither fighter. Instead, with one practised movement they both jumped to their feet and faced each other from across the long platform.

Though both of them were able to withstand the explosion, the massive flames and the gas behind them were already beginning to take affect and were starting to throw both fighters off balance.

The flames grew stronger and stronger as more gas was fed to them. Once the actual bending began, there was no telling how wild and uncontrolled the flames would get.

Powerful, unrestrained fire was a near death trap at its minimum and with the added brutality of the fighters themselves, few fallen fighters left the stage unwounded, if they were spared merciful death. But then again that was what kept the audience coming back for more.

Dragon Thunder blinked away the gas that began to force itself into his face and down throat, his movements faltering with each step forward as he tried to regain control of his breathing.

Red Death smirked, swiftly ripping off one of the black clothes around her wrist and tying it over her mouth, filtering the gas that attempted to make its was down her throat. Airis raised an eyebrow. It was clear that this woman had fought in this height of competition before, and many times at that. Resting her head on her fist Airis continued to ponder; this Red Death would be a force to be reckoned with.

Red Death's opponent, clearly infuriated by her act, punched out both of his fists and sent an immense, anger induced fireball. Red Death lit her forearms and cut smoothly through the attack. While she was still covered by the attack's fire, she brought her leg in a high kick and sent a wide arc of fire toward Dragon Thunder. He blocked his chest with his own lit forearms and destroyed the arc with powerful ease.

The man let out an angry cry and charged Red Death, kicking and punching blasts of fire wildly. The gas did its job and strengthened flames that were already frenzied, the strikingly powerful flames lashing out at even the closer parts of the audience. Not letting Dragon Thunder's flames frighten her, Red Death quickly side-stepped each one. Then, taking control she dodged a final and slammed her open palm towards Dragon Thunder, sending out a sharp, swift blast of flames, leaving the man no time for defensive manoeuvre. The precision lived up to its expectations and hit Dragon Thunder square in the abdomen.

Dragon Thunder howled in pain, grabbing his still burning wound. Red Death seized her opportunity and quickly created a chest sized fire wheel; she was saving her energy, knowing that the gas would automatically induce the flames to grow nearly twice their starting size.

Dragon Thunder lifted his head just in time for him to see the growing circle of fire come hurdling towards him. The man jumped to his feet, ignoring the ripping pain of the previous burn. The man let out a strangled cry as he stole control of the fire wheel, the moment the attack reached close enough, he curved his right arm, catching the wheel in mid air, seconds before it hit his open chest. Rolling on the heel of his foot, Dragon Thunder caught the fire wheel and fed even more power into the attack, before sending back at full speed towards its creator.

Noticing every small movement her opponent made Red Death had already jumped into the air to avoid the wheel when Dragon Thunder turned her own attack against her. In the air Red Death took her chance for another attack, sending a powerful stream of fire down to her adversary.

Just as she had thought Dragon Thunder jumped back to avoid the attack, but the man was a little too late in his movements and not firmly back on his feet when the second part of Red Death's attack unleashed itself. The stream of fire, the moment it touched the stone platform, turned into rippling waves of hungry flames and before Dragon Thunder could react to protect himself the fire had already burned his feet thoroughly. As the waves of flames continued Dragon Thunder cried out in pure, unrelenting pain, the cry only ending when Red Death ceased her onslaught and landed back on the platform.

Dragon Thunder fell to his side, clenching the burned flesh of his feet in his tightening grip until his own strength turned on him by opening the wound further. Lifting up his pain stricken torso, he glared over at Red Death, from his pitiful position on the ground "You bitch!" He yelled out accusingly, spitting at the ground near her feet as he used his right hand to tenderly grasp the burn on his torso, flinching at even at the sensitive touch.

Red Death only smirked behind the black cloth as she stared down the near broken man, of whose physical pain had all been at her hand. Those words and that small action were all that were needed to open the possibility of finishing him off honourably. Lighting her right forearm, the woman moved steadily towards the fallen fighter.

Dragon Thunder's eyes widen pass the fear as he realized what her intentions were. "No!" he yelled out as he used his remaining arm in an attempt to scoot himself away from the impending doom. But Red Death's slow merciless pace did not falter until she was but a foot away from the critically wounded man. As she rose her lit hand that was growing increasingly large with each passing heart beat, a swift flash passed over her eyes, like a sharpened dagger ready to plunge into its victim.

Dragon Thunder, in a final attempt to protect his mortally wounded body, instinctively lifted his arm to protect his vulnerable neck from more damage than it could take, but it was too late. Red Death had slammed her lit forearm into his heavily wounded abdomen, and as he dropped his arm away from his neck she ran the lit fist up his chest, giving the final, unforgiving blow to the delicate flesh under his chin, setting in all of the force she could muster to get rid of the idiot for good.

Dragon Thunder flew off of his knees at the force of the impact, landing painstakingly hard on stone floor. Crimson blood spurted out of the man's mouth as the back of his head made contact with the solid ground; his skull creating a sickening crack as the rest of his beaten body followed.

At the sign of her job finished, Red Death slipped out of her offensive stance, taking her time to stand up straight and untie the fabric from around her mouth. Slowly, she ran her icy glare threateningly over the now silent, yet curious audience. The only sounds audible being the mixed gasps and gurgles that came from her wounded opponent.

With smooth, predatory movement, Red Death made her way once more to inspect the extent of the damages she had given Dragon Thunder. Her boots echoing the sound of the platform ground throughout the entire stadium as she demolished the short distance between her and the once great Dragon Thunder. The fighter smirked as she noticed that not a soul dared to even breathe as she stood over Dragon Thunder with a heartless glare.

The idiot had cracked his skull on the landing and a pool of dark blood had begun to form under his head, it was a miracle that he was even awake gasping for the breath he had lost when she had rammed her flaming fist into his upper torso.

The woman smiled at her work; the man's chest, feet, and throat were burned open and blood was already seeping out of the corners and the center of his burns, where the intense fire had left its largest impression. Red Death smirked as she watched his pathetic chest heave. He should have known that brute force would never allow him to succeed completely in this world.

Yet despite this rough and cold appearance, Airis had managed to detect something. The airbender had not been lost in the magnitude of the fight. Yes, watching a grown man get beaten senseless had been one of her favourite pass times for a long while, but she had something bigger to focus on this time. This time she had been able noticed something odd about the new fighter and Airis did not waste her time with this one.

After the droning sounds of the crowd cheering had died away Airis had been able to make a weak connection into Red Death's mind. It was faint and would probably break at the first jerk of movement that either of them made, but for the moment she was able to tap into Red Death's thoughts.

The teenager had actually found an interesting tinge of regret in the seemingly bloodthirsty fighter. It appeared to be an older part of this Red Death that had the trouble of accepting the fact that she had hurt Dragon Thunder so heavily.

_He disserved all of it._ The fighter that Airis assumed Red Death had built over the years said to her uneasy, older self. _He needed to be put in his place. _

_But so harshly? _The kinder version replied.

_We gave the crowd what they wanted._

_I suppose so…_

With that, Red Death's thoughts went silent. The harsh leer on Red Death's face had melted away, during Airis's mind-tapping, and it had been replaced by an emotionless frown.

It didn't take long for the women to correct her show of weakness, though. Red Death sharply turned her back to the man, and Airis lost the weak connection, leaving the airbender with tiny, gnawing tid-bits to ponder on. The last thing Airis had been able to intercept was the woman forcing all of her feelings of regret in the darkest corners of her mind, as she left Dragon Thunder there, coughing, gasping, defenceless.

* * *

The running plan was definitely getting them nowhere, and fast. Katara hated to admit it, but they were lost; every street, corner and house were all beginning to look exactly the same. The only thing that assured Katara that they weren't going in circles was the faded out street names labelled at every crossroad.

How far they had made it from the festival, Katara had no clue. And any idea at how long it had been since the then was as fuzzy as Appa. It could have been fifteen minutes ago, half an hour, or even a whole hour, all she knew was the time between running and pauses to catch their breath was rapidly decreasing. Meaning that they had to either loose this guy or face him soon, or else she and Aang would most likely run out of energy.

Also, the two had yet to find a poster that was even remotely linked to the firebending tournament, it seemed as though the festival was a much more popular event than guys burning each other to a crisp, which Katara could agree with on most occasions, but this was not one of them.

Once more the two paused their running for another break, Katara glanced around at the street they were now in. Despite the common look of most of the homes in the capital, it seemed as though she and Aang were in a much seedier part of the city. Most of the buildings were near ruins and not even a sound was heard from anywhere except for their mixed pants and the random call of some stray alley animal. It sent shivers down Katara's spine, this entire town passed off as nearly deserted.

"Any posters?" Aang asked when he noticed the waterbender looking around at the town.

The question brought Katara back to reality, but eerie shivers had yet to leave. "No, none"

Aang let out a deep sigh that brought his shoulders down with it. "We better keep moving then…" he said almost reluctantly, with only a tiny sliver of optimism.

Katara shook her head and reached out to grab his shoulder. "Aang, there is no way we can out run or out manoeuvre this guy. All this running is just using up all of our energy." she said using his real name under the security of the deserted town.

Aang turned, facing Katara "Which is why we have to keep moving, the sooner we find the guys, the sooner we get rid of whoever is following us."

"Aang, for all we know they could all be on the other side of the city! I mean look where we are, this placed is completely abandoned." Katara explained moving her free arm out to show him the uninhabited town.

Aang looked up at the ancient and crumbling buildings, suddenly his face brightened. "Katara, wait here, I have an idea." He said before running across the street, over to a small alley between two of the tallest old buildings.

"Aang what are you doing?" Katara asked in a hushed voice. They were spending too much time in one place right now and they had to decide what they were going to do about the man that was after them.

Aang smiled, "I'm going to finally find out exactly where we are."

Double checking over his shoulder so that he was sure no one could see him, he made a small blast of air that bounced him toward and off one of the buildings and onto the next until he had reached the top.

From his view at the roof of the tall, yet half crumbling building, Aang could see most of the Fire Nation Capital. In the distance, from where he and Katara had run from, he could see that the festival had ended since the explosions and even farther was the hill were their house was, he could easily spot it since it was the only one that had any lights lit inside.

But, he didn't need to know those things right now; he needed to find something, anything that might resemble a firebending tournament. Hardly anything looked like it could house something as large as a firebending tournament. Aang groaned as he scanned the horizon again for something that even remotely looked like a tournament.

Katara, who stood staring up at Aang, as he looked around the city, was kicking herself at not thinking about climbing up on a building and having a look around earlier. Well at least now they could know where they were going, how far it was, and where the heck they were in the first place.

"Do you see anything?" Katara called up to the airbender.

Katara could barely see his shoulders sag from his place on the tall building. "I can see the house," he answered back. "But I can't see anything that looks like a firebending tournament."

Katara sighed, knowing that if Aang didn't spot something and soon, heading back towards home, might be there best chance. At least they could be in somewhat familiar ground there… but there was no way they could run from that guy for too long. The best plan would be to head towards the house and try and find the guys from there.

"Have one last look around and then we might as well head towards the house," she said, knowing that they had better get moving this had already gone far too long and there was no telling how close the man was or, if they were lucky enough, was getting.

Aang was getting uneasy about it as well. Taking one last long look at the city before him, and lingering far too long on the Fire Palace in the distance for his own good, he finally admitted himself defeat and gazed back over to the far off hill where the house was.

"Nothing," he reported to Katara as he sighed in defeat. "Let's head back…"

Aang had barely been able to hop off the building before he heard someone suck in an enormous breath and then the first starter _tck_ of the attack that could only belong to one person.

Like the times before, he hardly had enough time to find out where the attack was coming from. All he was able to see was the familiar large outline of the shadow man, hidden partly on the edge of an alley, before the building burst out from under him. Aang barely heard Katara calling out his fake name through the noise of the collapsing building.

Aang's body seemed to respond before his head, since he propelled himself away from the explosion as quickly as possible. Through the rubble of the aged and destroyed building, and the ashes the attack lifted up, Aang managed to create an air pillow to fall onto safely, without the man seeing his bending.

The air pillow ended up weaker then what Aang had expected and he had to somersault through most of the impact.

Coughing through the dust and debris, Aang set himself up right again with the help of some airbending and looked around trying to find Katara. The dust had begun to settle, but Aang still could see Katara. Aang coughed again, some dust getting caught in his lungs in the process, and walked toward the clearest point of vision.

"Xia!" He called out to Katara, hoping that her fake name would still get her attention. There was no way they could use her really with the explosion guy so close.

"Kuzon!" Katara called back from somewhere not far behind Aang, before giving a small cough. He heard footsteps run the short distance toward him and soon after felt Katara's hand grab out to reach him.

The ashes and dust had finally subsided to something that looked like an ugly brownish mist and Aang was able to see and grasp Katara's hand to help her find him. He felt Katara's hand relax when he took it and pulled the rest of her out of the dirty fog.

Aang felt sweet reassurance wash through his body when he saw that Katara was virtually unharmed. For a terrifying moment he had thought that it had been Katara that the man was aiming at. He was pulled out of his brief thoughts when he heard Katara cough again.

"How was he so quiet?" Katara asked indirectly to Aang, her voice rough with the dust.

The question took Aang aback. It was true they hadn't even heard the smallest footstep or clink of metal that for some reason was a sound that followed the man. And a person that large was bound to make a lot of noise when he moved.

Once again Aang was kicked out of his thoughts, but this time it was by the heavy, metallic footsteps of the explosion man. Aang felt Katara let go of his hand and unsheathe her broadswords from their place at her hip.

Aang himself felt his body slip into a defensive stance and glare straight toward the sound of the footsteps. Finally through the dusty mist he saw the man's moving outline. The man seemed to see their outlines as well, since the moment Aang caught sight of his shadowy figure the man stopped.

For the next few seconds the three of them allowed the dusty mist of ashes and debris to settle around them for the final time. Aang and Katara's ragged breathes mixing in with the quietness of the abandoned town and the man's own strangely smooth breathe.

Finally the standoff was broken when it became clear enough to see the others faces and the man smirked at the two kids and took one step forward, seemingly to test their reaction to the movement.

Before Aang could even open his mouth to ask exactly who he was and why he was after them, the man took another deep and sent a beam of fire-energy directing towards the two of them.

* * *

"HA! In. Your. Face!" Toph yelled as she stared in Sokka's general direction and stood up to pound her fists in the air like the rest of the stadium. "Whoohoo!"

Sokka fell back in his seat staring at platform where the healers were now tending to Dragon Thunder's burns and head injury. Mourning at the loss of his fighter, Sokka dragged his fingers down his face; clearly exposing his eye sockets most of the way. "Why? Why?" He sobbed to no one in particular. "He was so good!"

Toph laughed at his misery. "I hate to say 'We told you so' but-"

"Then don't!"

"We told you so."

Sokka growled. "That wasn't a fair fight. My guy didn't expect it to turn into liquid fire! I demand a rematch!" He yelled out to the host, who couldn't have possibly have heard it.

Toph felt the need to point out the obvious, and poked his arm. "Snoozles, your guy is unconscious. How the heck is he supposed to fight if he can't even do anything? Besides Crazy did say anything goes in these fights. Didn't you Crazy?"

Airis was too busy trying to figure out exactly who Red Death was and trying to re-establish a mind connection with said person, to answer Toph's question immediately. It was infuriatingly impossible to set up a connection now that that the crowd was riled up and not mind numbly focused on the fighting.

She had known that Toph had asked her for back up on her argument, thankfully she had kept the back of her mind connected to her the other two, in case another argument had stirred up, but the airbender decided to stay out of this argument, at least for as long as she could. Besides, Airis knew Toph did not need her for any sort of back up; the earthbender had only wanted her to join in for a double-pounding on Sokka's ego, which was already thoroughly bruised thanks to Dragon Thunder's defeat.

Toph was persistent though, finally tapping her fingers on the side of Airis's skull to make headway with Airis's focus. "Hello! Anybody home?" Airis heard Toph ask from what seemed a mile away.

The airbender inwardly sighed, gave up on her attempt of the mental link and followed her mind back to Sokka and Toph.

When she regained total consciousness of where she was, Airis gazed over at the two, Toph's confident smirk and Sokka's extended pouting lip, and what was happening on the platform, it was all too easy for Airis to figure out exactly what needed to be said.

"Sokka, Toph is right, anything goes. You guy got knocked down and burned; he's out of the tournament. Maybe for good by the looks of things"

Toph's smirk only grew. "Told ya, and once Red Death wins this thing, you owe _me_ five silver pieces."

Sokka fell to his knees, digging the heels of his palms into eyes. "NO!"

Airis rolled her eyes a bit, chuckling under her breath. "Sokka calm down, you can always bet on the next guy who fights. It might be a bit hard to find someone who can beat Red Death, but you never know." Her voice was dry with missing focus as Airis gave her attempt to comfort Sokka.

"Yeah, there are two more fights left! You can't give up now!" Toph said agreeing with Airis and getting both of her companions to do a double take on her words. "Pick some dude that my guy can crush in the last round so I can really destroy your spirit!"

Airis gave a short laugh, before lowering it down to half-covered snickers. "She's right you know. The last round is always the best, especially when it comes to spirit crushing."

Sokka lifted up his head and looked at Airis and Toph "I really do hate you guys, you do know that, right?"

Toph and Airis both nodded. "Yup, we sure do."

"Good." And with that Sokka returned to the pouting he had first come into the stadium with.

Toph nearly immediately switched her attention away from Sokka, since she had been pleased with his return to being the wet blanket of the night, and gave it back to the platform where Dragon Thunder was being lifted away on a stretcher and they were getting ready for Red Death to face the next challenger. Airis followed Toph's lead, leaving Sokka to mope by himself.

"C'mon!" Toph called out with the crowd. "Bring out the next one!"

Down on the platform, the host chuckled deeply at the calls and cheers of the impatient audience. He raised his hands to signal everyone to quiet down and turned to Red Death, who was standing with her arms crossed and with the same impatience as the crowd was rapping her fingers over her arm. As usual she seemed unfazed by the fight she had just won.

"Alright!" The host's voice boomed through the stadium. "It seems as though Red Death has once again wounded to the point of almost no return! Let us hope that our semi-final challenger can at least give her more of a fight than Dragon Thunder and that Red Death will once again reclaim the championship title!"

The crowd roared at his words. The host smirked; there was no need to rile them up any longer.

"Please welcome The Ember Viper… to his doom." His voice lowered menacingly with the words. His hands made a sweeping motion towards the other massive door on the left side of the platform, opposite to the one Red Death had walked out of.

Red Death let her eyes roll to where the new fighter was supposed to come from. Not showing her hopeful expectancy of a good fight through her impatient demeanour.

For a moment there was silence.

"The Ember Viper!" The host called out again, annoyance clear in his voice.

Once again nothing.

Red Death's eyes narrowed and her hands clenched angrily around her own crossed arms. She was here to fight, not to wait. The ignorance of this fighter would immediately put a bad mark on her honour.

After nearly a minute of waiting, a door at the bottom of the platform, meant for those who worked at the tournament, creaked open and a man slipped out. He climbed up the stairs, under the hushed voices of the audience, to the firebending platform and promptly handed the host some sort of document. Turning back the man left the stadium as quickly as he had came.

The host unravelled the document while Red Death began to purse her lips at the prolonged diversion of her next fight.

The crowd waited patiently to see what was going on with the letter. Each person having their own version of what they thought was going on. Toph and Sokka were no different.

"She's being kicked out because of over-kill she did to Dragon Thunder! And they're gonna giving the title to him!" Sokka yelled out.

Toph scoffed. "If that was the case, you're guy would be long gone. My guess is that Ember guy got so scared when he saw Red Death fight you're idiotbender that he ran away with his tail between his legs."

"Yeah, right! We'll just wait and see about that one!"

Airis snickered underneath her breath, using the edge of her hand to cover her smirk. It was almost too obvious that Toph was right, again, but she would let Toph have the pleasure of feasting solo on Sokka's dignity, this round anyway.

As Airis had suspected, Toph was right. When the host finished reading the paper, he burned it in his hand and lifted his arms to the crowd. "It seems as though Ember Viper has a fear of Death and has quit the fight," he said with one of his slight, deep chuckles.

Toph smirked "Told ya-"

Sokka cut her off, lifting a finger "Don't say-"

"-so"

The audience booed at the fear shown by the dishonourable fighter. Without Ember Viper there would be no semi-finals and the tournament would end earlier than planned; a large disappointment among the crowd of men, who had nothing better to do.

"Fine!" The host called out. "If you wish to have a semi-final than I suggest that one of the audience volunteer to fight Red Death, and possibly, very possibly, win the championship! …Anyone?"

Airis laughed under her breath when the crowd went absolutely silent. They were all like that, ever since Airis had first started fighting. They loved to watch as others got beaten senseless but would back off immediately if they were given a place to fight. Airis scoffed. _Bunch a' wimps_. If Airis had been alone and did not have the danger of blowing the cover of the other Avatar and his friends looming over her shoulder, she would have jumped at the chance to fight again. Taking this chance to fight would also mean that she would have more time and a better possibility of figuring out who Red Death was.

The ex-fighter gave a lop-sided grin. Plus she would expose herself even more as Phoenix and though that wasn't so bad, it wasn't exactly wanted either. To bad, she would have to sit this one out.

Suddenly Toph flicked her on the side of her head. "Ow," Airis mumbled rubbing the side of her head. "What was that for?"

Toph rolled her sightless eyes. "Go already!"

Airis jerked back. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't 'What are you talking about' me," the earthbender mocked. "You've been leaning towards the fighting arena ever since Red Death showed up and now it's twice that I've had to hit you in the head to get you out of you're thoughts, you're vibrations are really starting to get irritating. So for the sake of my sanity, and you're physical health, go fight Red!" Toph yelled as she pointed down at the platform where the host and especially Red Death were waiting. And Red Death's patience was dwindling by the second.

"Why me? And what if I don't want to fight?" Airis asked, thankfully keeping their need for a low profile in constant check.

"I think that you've noticed that out of the three of us, you're the only one who can firebend. Trust me, if they would allow earthbending in this tournament, it would have definitely been me down there fighting Red, but this is a firebending tournament and you kinda need firebending to fight. Besides, you're the one who wants to know exactly who took you're place in the arena. If you don't find out who's replaced you than you're just a sad fighter, Crazy." Toph tsked in made up disappointment.

Airis gave the other ex-fighter a small smirk. "Low blow, Toph" the airbender said making a hard effort to sound equally disappointed with Toph.

Toph shrugged her shoulders slightly, reclining in her seat. "Enh. It's what I do."

Knowing that it was either a voluntary choice or getting booted into the ring personally by Toph, Airis fixed up her cloak up sharply in defeat before she stood up and turned to Toph. "You had better be cheering for me while I'm down there," she said adding a hint of malice in her voice, her tone telling the blind earthbender that it was more than likely a bad idea and that it was impossible that it would turn out pretty.

Toph tilted her head at the words, but let them slide off casually, "Maybe… if I feel like you're good enough."

Airis chuckled softly before she easily moved down the stairs and disappeared into the massive audience.

For Sokka, who had been entirely too engrossed in a conversation about Dragon Thunder with the man who was sitting behind the small group to notice that Toph had gotten Airis to go down and fight Red Death, it took a good couple of minutes to realize that Airis had picked up and left.

"Hey, Toph, where did she go?" He asked as he checked the seat next to him, over the crowd, behind him and even under his seat for the missing airbender.

"Who?" Toph answered nonchalantly, "Red Death is still on the platform looking as pissed as ever, now that no one will fight her. That who you're looking for?" She offered.

Sokka looked down at the platform sure enough Red Death was still there and was growing more impatient by the second, actually now on the verge of snarling at the gutless crowd. But he wasn't asking about her.

"No, where's uh…Phoenix?"

Toph propped her legs up on an empty chair in front of her. "Bathroom," she answered simply. The only reason she hid the fact that Airis was going down to fight Red Death was because Toph really did want to see his reaction to the ex-fighter fighting again, well in Toph's case, feel his reaction.

"Well she better get back soon, she might miss the semi-final."

As if on cue the host cut off the soft chatter of the audience and yelled out, "If no one has the guts to fight Red Death than we might as well move on to the final round." He was obviously irritated with the spineless audience he had tonight.

"Or she might miss the finale" Sokka suggested to himself.

When another minute of silence passed the host threw up his arms once again. "Well then, Please welcome-"

"I'll fight her, if you don't mind," interrupted an eerie voice, one that made the hairs on the back of Sokka's neck stand.

The entire stadium including Red Death and the host turned toward the left challenger's entrance. The doors finished creaking open and sure enough, there was Airis, cloak tossed aside, arms relaxed next to her, and ready to fight.

"WHAT?" Sokka jumped out of his seat, before he was hauled back down by smirking Toph, who was in fact quite happy with Sokka's response.

"Phoenix…" mumbled the host and most of the crowd in disbelief.

But Airis patiently waited for the words she wanted to hear from the person that mattered most right now.

"Red Death…" The Red Death successor whispered.

Airis smirked. _There they are._ She gave a short snicker before leaning her weight back nonchalantly. "Well, I said I'd fight her, didn't I?" Then the teenager lowered her eyes darkly. "So let's go."

* * *

This time both Aang and Katara knew exactly what was coming for them. The moment the first _TCK _reached their ears the two of them naturally rolled to the side; Katara and Aang both having fought enough battles in the past to know how to avoid a direct attack. Luckily for them, the man's straightforward explosions now seemed to be his only means of attacking. But by now the two had also figured that to underestimate this man would most definitely be the difference between losing and actually surviving.

Once Katara rolled to a kneeling pose, her hands now instinctively grasping the broad swords at her waits, she looked up to get her first clear view of their mystery attacker. The man was a giant, and merely his presence seemed fully intent on crushing both her and Aang. Most intriguing though, was the tattoo of an eye overtop three vertical crystal shaped bars in the very center of his forehead.

Katara smoothly swept her swords out of their scabbard; there was no more time to wonder about the man's physical characteristics any longer. The only thing that did matter at the moment was what he was capable of doing and how fast Katara could figure out how to predict his next attack.

Seeing an immediate blind spot on the man moments after he had fired at them, Katara charged forward, twirling her wrists to gain powerful momentum with the blades. And the still hovering dust provided her with the exact cover she needed to reach the man before he could notice the attack.

Through the dust, the waterbender could make out an ill-placed, what looked to be heavily gloved hand lingering in mid air. Katara's fighting adrenaline seized the golden opportunity and both of her swords were brought down on the exposed hand, with the ultimate intent of wounding him and then making their escape. It would have never been Katara's first choice of 'distracting' an opponent, but with her limited weapons and lack of bending there was no other choice.

When her blade made contact, Katara braced herself for the sickening sound of steel slicing through flesh and the man's bloodcurdling cry that was sure to come.

The sounds never came.

Instead, her blades retaliated off of his hand with a metallic clang and sent painful shock waves through her wrists and up her forearm. And it was a muffled grunt of pain and surprise that left her lips.

The man had set a trap for her and Katara had fallen for it; hook, line and sinker. Now he had Katara in close enough range to blast her into a million pieces. How could she have been so oblivious?

Using every second to his advantage, the man shoved his metal hand harder into her blades, tossing Katara a good fifteen feet away. Her shell-shocked body hit the ground hard, but from months of fighting experience she forced herself to scramble to her feet as soon as possible.

But the man never gave that chance, knowing from his own years of fighting and killing, never to give a second chance. As the swordswoman clambered back to her feet, he sucked in a breath, feeling his heart beat speed up to unimaginable rates in preparation for the upcoming explosion and he felt almost frightful energy build up in his chi system.

Of course he wasn't aiming directly for the girl; he didn't want to kill her, at least not yet. This was his chance to wound and capture her. After that all he had to deal with was the boy.

_The boy!_

As Combustion was letting the lethal amount of energy finally slip through his control and out through its only escape, a blurry shadow flying in from the corner of his eye caught his attention and before Combustion could redirect his blast, the boy had swooped in from a blind spot, slamming his foot firmly into Combustion's cheeks bone.

His thick head lolled to the side and if it had not been for the sturdy pose needed for the explosion Combustion would have been knocked off his feet. The explosion had been safely directed away from the girl and sent into one of the crumbling abandoned buildings, sending another pile of substantial dust and debris into the air.

Combustion corrected himself almost immediately, bracing himself for another surprise impact from the boy. But he felt none. In a rage he scoured the dust covered street, searching for the two twerps. He found both of them where he had thrown down the girl. The boy had apparently rushed to her side; figuring there was more strength in numbers.

Combustion smirked. There was, but not with him, he was rather glad the little firebender had stuck himself to the girl. Two children made a much better target than one.

Once again, Combustion sucked in a breath, his heart beat sped up, the powerful energy charged, and he aimed off from the kids and on the building they were standing under.

The kids were good, but not as good as he had first thought. Their attachment to each other would slow them down considerably. Now it would not take long at all to take down the swordswoman and the little firebender. They were as good as his.

As let the energy escape only one hint of doubt taken from the fight past through his subconscious, it was irrelevant but still, why hadn't the little firebender used his chance, when he had kicked him the face, to burn him past recognition? Was he really that honourable, or did the kid have some sort of defect, was he really a firebender?

Unbeknownst to Combustion, the swordswoman's at the opposite end of his attack was wondering about this fact as well.

* * *

AN- Reviews are always welcome. Have a good night/day everyone :)


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